World Marxist Review 1961-01: Vol 4 Iss 1

MARXIST
REVIEW

PROBLEMS
OF PEACE AND
SOCIALISM

| JANUARY —
: VOL. 4, NO. | 35 CENTS

JANUARY, 1961
WORKERS OF ALL COUNTRIES, UNITE! Vol. 4, No. 1

World Marxist Review:
Problems of Peace and Socialism

Theoretical and Information Journal
of Communist and Workers’ Parties

CONTENTS

N. S. KHRUSHCHOV: For New Victories for the World

Communist Movement : 3
G. GHEORGHIU-DEJ: The Socialist Camp—Mainspring of World Progress 29
JAMES E. JACKSON: The General Crisis of Capitalism Deepens 38
IN THE COMMUNIST AND WORKERS’ PARTIES
Post-Election Policy of the Italian Communist Party 46
R. IBARBURU, N. SCHWARTZ, J. L. MASSERA: Fror the Experience of

the Communist Party of Uruguay ; 49
For the Leninist Party Spirit in Philosophy : 54
M. ESSAOUIRI: The Question of Mauritania —..... 56
G. SINFIELD: The "Daily Worker''— Paper of the Working Class 57

EXCHANGE OF VIEWS

The Agrarian Problem and the National-Liberation Movement
Contributions by Kh. Bagdache (Syria); S. Aguirre (Cuba); A. Boudiaf
(Algeria); E. M. S. Namboodiripad (India); R. Ulyanovsky (USSR);
K. Nouri (Iran); D. Tabet (Italy); G. Vieira (Colombia) 59

COMMUNICATIONS AND COMMENT

¥. SKRYPNIK: Co-operation in Science and Engineering Among the

Socialist Countries dint SP re ee aa! 80
Y¥. VILOU: Socialism is Remaking Dobrogea's Farming 83
O. BARTKE: Uranium 235 and Bonn's "Loyalty" to Its Treaties 85

AGAINST THE PERSECUTION OF DEMOCRATS

M. ALVES: Save the Lives of Portuguese Patriots 87
H. LARA: Mexico: Anti-Communism Is the Way to Fascism 87
S. MAHMOUD: Reign of Terror in the United Arab Republic 88
J. CASTRO: McCarthyism in the Argentine 90
SUPPLEMENT

Economic Development of the Socialist Countries ee : 93

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ainccisitn.

For New Victories for the

World Communist Movement
N.S. Khrushchov

(Speech delivered at a meeting of the Party organizations in the Higher Party School,
the Academy of Social Sciences and the Institute of Marxism-Leninism, C.C., CPSU,

on January 6, 1961.)

OMRADES,

The Meeting of representatives of 81
Marxist-Leninist parties, held in Moscow in
November 1960, will go down in the history
of the world Communist and working-class
movement as one of its most vivid chapters.
The Meeting made a profound analysis of
the present international situation and arrived
at a common standpoint on the major issues
facing our movement. As a result of the
Meeting, which took place in an atmosphere
of fraternal unity, the million-fold family of
Communists in all countries have drawn closer
on the basis of Marxism-Leninism, and have
redoubled their strength in the valiant struggle
for the triumph of peace and socialism.

The Meeting, the most representative in the
history of the Communist and working-class
movement, was attended by veterans steeled
in class battles, people who have experienced
long years of grim struggles and who remained
staunch under the torture of fascist execution-
ers and other enemies of the working class. It
was attended by leaders of the Marxist-Lenin-
ist parties of the socialist and capitalist coun-
tries, by representatives of the Communist
parties which in difficult conditions are fight-
ing valiantly against capitalism, and by mili-
tant leaders of the national-liberation move-
ment—in short, it was a gathering of the
flower of the world Communist movement.

Now that the Communists in all countries
are vigorously discussing the Statement issued
by the Meeting and its Appeal to the Peoples
of the World, both of which they endorse
unanimously, it is perfectly clear that the
time and effort which the participants in the
Meeting devoted to their common task were
not wasted. The working people everywhere
can see for themselves that the Marxist-Lenin-
ist parties have justified the hopes of the
peoples.

Over a thousand million people in the so-
cialist countries followed the proceedings of
the Meeting with close attention. They were

confident that it would result in the further
consolidation of the socialist camp and closer
unity of the ranks of the world Communist
movement. The working class, all working
people in the capitalist countries wanted to
know how best to fight for their revolutionary
goals, for social progress and for democratic
rights and liberties, how to resist imperialist
reaction effectively. The fighters for national
independence expected the Meeting to tell
them how to abolish, speedily and for ever,
the shameful colonial system and how to
ensure the development of the liberated coun-
tries along the road of national independence,
peace and social progress.

All peace-loving people awaited from the
Meeting the answer to the great question of
the day—how to safeguard the world against
nuclear war and how to establish lasting
peace on earth and friendship among all
nations, how to ensure the peaceful coexis-
tence of countries with differing social sys-
tems.

And hundreds of millions of people all over
the world experienced deep satisfaction when
they learned about the results of the Meeting.

The Meeting greatly enriched the ideolo-
gical treasure-house of international commu-
nism. The Statement, which was adopted
unanimously, is a militant Marxist-Leninist
document of the utmost international signifi-
cance. It reaffirms the loyalty of the Commu-
nist parties to the Declaration adopted in
1957. At the same time it furnishes a profound
analysis of the new developments in the world
arena, and contains theoretical and political
conclusions which are important for all the
Marxist-Leninist parties. For the Communists,
the working class and progressive people in
all countries this Statement will be a reliable
guide in the further struggle for their noble
aims.

The Statement contains a Marxist-Leninist
assessment of the times, and points to the
new prospects opening up before the inter-

+ WORLD MARXIST REVIEW

national Communist, working-class and liber-
ation movement. The documents of the Meet-
ing show the way forward for the socialist
world system and for the further consolida-
tion of the socialist camp; they define the
major issues of the working-class struggle
in the capitalist countries, of the fight for
the final abolition oi the infamous colonial
system, and for the unity of all those taking
part in the movement to avert war.

The Anpeal to the Peoples of the World
is an impassioned call for unity in the strug-
gle to solve the most pressing problem of our
time—to prevent a world war. The Appeal
shows once again that it is we, the Commu-
nists, who are the most consistent champions
of the interests of the people, that it is we
who show the only way to preserve peace
and make it durable.

The work of the Meeting was inspired by
proletarian internationalism, Party democracy
and the desire to reinforce the unity of the
Communists. The delegations from all the
parties expressed their views, shared their
experience, and made their contribution both
in assessing and in elaborating the problems
of the day.

The chief results of the Meeting were
greater unity of the world Communist move-
ment and the further consolidation of the
international Communist front on the princi-
ples of Marxism-Leninism. This can be de-
scribed as a new ideological and political
victory for the Communists, a victory of the
greatest significance and, by the same token.
as another defeat for the enemies of commu-
nism and progress. The imperialists and their
stooges were bitterly disappointed when they
read the document that came out of the
Meeting. We have every reason for saying
that the unity of the world Communist move-
ment, which strikes terror into the hearts of
the imperialist reactionaries, is now stronger
than ever. This is a notable success for our
common cause.

1. Our Epoch Is the Epoch of the Triumph
of Marxism-Leninism

An analysis of the world situation as it
appeared at the beginning of the sixties cannot
but impart to all members of the great Com-
munist movement feelings of deep satisfaction
and legitimate pride. Indeed, comrades, the
reality has greatly exceeded the boldest and
most optimistic predictions and expectations.

In the past we used to say that history was
working for socialism. By that we meant that
eventually man would consign capitalism to

the dustbins and that socialism would triumph.
Today we can say that socialism is working
for history, because the rise of socialism and
its affirmation on a worldwide scale are the
basic content of the historical process in our
times.

In 1913, that is, four years before the
October Revolution, Lenin, our immortal
leader and teacher, wrote that since the time
of the Communist Manifesto world history
could plainly be divided into three main per-
iods, the first from the revolution of 1848 to
t! ‘s Communie of 1871, the second from
th s Commune to the Russian revolution
of 1905, and the third from the Russian revo-
lution. Lenin rounded off his characterization
of the three periods in these words: “Since
the emergence of Marxism, each of the three
great epochs of world history has brought it
further confirmation and new triumphs. But
the future will bring Marxism, the doctrine
of the proletariat, an even greater triumph.”
(Collected Works, Russ. ed., Vol. 18, p. 547.)

Those prophetic words have come true
with amazing force and accuracy. The new
epoch foreseen by Lenin has arrived and
qualitatively it can be described as a funda-
mentally new epoch in world history. No
previous epoch can be compared to it. Those
were epochs when the working class was
gathering strength and when its valiant strug-
gles, while shaking the foundations of capi-
talism, were unable to solve the main prob-
lem, that of the transfer of power to the
working people. On the other hand, the new
epoch is distinguished from all others by the
historic victory of socialism, initiated by the
October Revolution in 1917. Ever since, the
Marxist-Leninist doctrine has been winning
one resounding victory after another. And
today its impact and revolutionizing role are
felt not merely in separate countries and
continents, but throughout the world.

There are a number of factors which
make the march of socialism irresistible. To
begin with, Marxism-Leninism has been taken
up by hundreds of millions of people and
for this reason it has become, as Marx put
it, a mighty material force. Moreover, in the
eyes of mankind Marxism-Leninism is not
just a theory, it has become a living reality;
today the socialist society being created in
vast areas of Europe and Asia embodies that
theory. There is no longer, nor can there be,
a force in the world capable of halting the
growing urge of vast masses of the people
to see with their own eyes and feel with
their own hands what socialism is like—not

WORLD MARXIST REVIEW oS

through books or manifestoes, but in reality,
in practice. There is no longer any force in
the world capable of barring the road to
socialism for the peoples of more and more
countries. There is yet another circumstance
of prime importance. Whereas yesterday
hundreds of millions of people in Asia, Africa
and Latin America were crushed by the op-
pression of the imperialist “civilizers,” today
the scene is undergoing a drastic change.
The rise of growing numbers of nations
through revolution provides most favorable
conditions for an unprecedented extension of
the sphere of influence of Marxist-Leninist
ideas. The day is not far off when Marxism-
Leninism will dominate the minds of the
majority of the population of the globe. That
which has taken place in the world in the
forty-three years since the victory of the
October Revolution is proof of the scientific
soundness and vitality of the Leninist theory
of the world socialist revolution.

It will be useful to recall how Lenin char-
acterized the process of the world socialist
revolution and the forces taking part in it.
“.. . The socialist revolution,” he said, “will
not be solely and chiefly a struggle of the
revolutionary proletarians in the country con-
cerned against their own bourgeoisie; it will
be a struggle of all the colonies and dependent
countries oppressed by imperialism against
international imperialism.” (Collected Works,
Russ. ed., Vol. 30, p. 138.) Stressing that
that struggle was aimed primarily at achiev-
ing national liberation, Lenin said: ‘And it
should be perfectly clear that in the coming
decisive battles of the world revolution, the
movement of the majority of the population of
the world, first aimed at national emancipa-
tion, will turn against capitalism and imper-
ialism, and will, perhaps, play a much greater
revolutionary role than we expect.” (Collected
Works, Russ. ed., Vol. 32, p. 458.)

Now that a socialist world system has taken
shape and with anti-imperialist, national-liber-
ation revolutions in full flood, it is necessary
to determine the further course and perspec-
tive of world development. This cannot be
done without a profound understanding of
the essence, content and nature of the decisive
tasks of the present epoch.

The question of the character of the epoch
is not an abstract, purely theoretical question.
Inseparably linked with it are the general
strategy and tactics of world communism
and of each Communist Party.

The ideologists of imperialism, and their
reformist and revisionist associates, are doing

their utmost to misrepresent the character
of the present epoch. This is an instance of
falsification with a definite aim: to mislead
the masses of the people, divert them from
the revolutionary path, hitch them to the
bandwagon of imperialism and create the
impression that capitalism is not in its death-
throes but is creeping into socialism through
a sort of calculated “evolution.” This is the
notorious theory of the so-called reformed
capitalism. The falsifiers maintain that this
“reformation” is in the best interest of all
classes and that peace and harmony are,
therefore, the order of the day in capitalist
society. That is how the bourgeois ideologists,
the Right-wing Social-Democrats and the re-
visionist renegades depict the present epoch.
It is not accidental that the capitalist ideolo-
gists substitute far-fetched definitions such
as “people’s capitalism” and the “welfare
state” for ‘‘capitalism” and “imperialism.”

Naturally, we must expose this ideological
sabotage and counter it with our scientific,
Marxist-Leninist definition of the epoch. We
must do so in order properly to define the
relationship of forces and use the new oppor-
tunities which the present epoch opens up
for the further advancement of our noble
cause.

What, then, are the requirements which a
Marxist-Leninist characterization of the times
should meet? It should provide a clear idea
of the class that holds the key position in this
epoch, of the basic content, trend and tasks
of social development. Secondly, it should
encompass the entire revolutionary process
from the formation of socialism to the com-
plete victory of communism. Thirdly, it should
show the forces aligning themselves with the
working class, which is the key force in our
times, and the movements flowing in the
general tide against - imperialism.

At a time when the socialist revolution
has triumphed in many countries, when so-
cialism has become a powerful world system,
when the colonial system of imperialism is
approaching complete disintegration, and,
with imperialism in a state of decline and
crisis, the definition of our epoch should
reflect these decisive developments.

The Statement adopted by the Meeting
defines the epoch in these terms:

“Our times, the basic content of which is
the transition’ from capitalism to socialism
initiated by the Great October Socialist Revo-
lution, are times of struggle between the two
opposed social systems, times of socialist
revolutions and national-liberation revolutions,

6 WORLD MARXIST REVIEW

of the breakdown of imperialism, of the aboli-
tion of the colonial system, times of the
transition of more peoples to the socialist
path, of the triumph of socialism and com-
munism on a worldwide scale.”

This definition of the character of the
present epoch can be regarded as an example
of a creative, genuinely scientific solution of
an important and responsible task. The
strength of this definition is that it faithfully
characterizes the main achievements of the
world liberation movement and provides the
international Communist and working-class
movement with a clear perspective of the
victory of communism on a world scale.

In defining the essence and character of
the present epoch as a whole, it is absolutely
essential that we should be clear about the
main peculiarities and distinguishing features
of its present stage. The post-October period,
seen from the point of view of its basic motive
forces, is clearly divided into two stages.
One of these began with the victory of the
October Revc'ution. It was, to use Lenin’s
phrase, the period of establishing and develop-
ing the national dictatorship of the proletariat,
that is, the dictatorship of the proletariat
within the national bounds of Russia alone.

Although right from its inception the Soviet
Union began to exert a very great influence
on international affairs, imperialism largely
determined the course and character of inter-
national relations. But even in those early
days it proved incapable of crushing the
Soviet Union, of preventing it from becoming
a mighty industrial power, the bulwark of
progress and civilization, a center of attrac-
tion for all the forces fighting against imper-
ialist oppression and fascist enslavement.

The second stage in the development of
the contemporary epoch dates from the rise
of the socialist world system. This was a
revolutionary process of historic significance.
The October Revolution broke the first link
in the imperialist chain. After this the chain
was broken in a number of places. In the
past, we used to speak about the breaking of
one or more links in the imperialist chain,
but at present an all-embracing chain of im-
perialism no longer exists. The dictatorship
of the working class has emerged beyond the
confines of one country and become an inter-
national force. Imperialism has lost not only
the countries where socialism has triumphed,
it is rapidly losing nearly all its colonies.
Naturally, as a result of these blows and
losses, the general crisis of capitalism has
become much more acute, and the balance

of forces in the world has changed radically
in favor of socialism.

The main distinguishing feature of our time
is the fact that the socialist world system
is becoming the decisive factor in the devel-
opment of human society. This finds direct
expression also in the sphere of international
relations. In the conditions of today socialism
is in a position to determine, in growing
measure, the character, methods and trends
of international relations. This does not mean
that imperialism is an “insignificant factor”
which can be ignored. Not at all. Imperialism
is still very strong. It controls a powerful
military machine.

Now, in peacetime, imperialism has created
a gigantic war machine and a ramified system
of military blocs and has subordinated its
economy to the arms drive. The U.S. imperial-
ists, bent on bringing the whole world under
their sway, are threatening mankind with
missile-nuclear war. Modern imperialism is
increasingly marked by decay and parasitism.
In their evaluation of the prospects of interna-
tional development, Marxist-Leninists do not,
and must not, have any illusions with regard
to imperialism.

The facts of the barefaced provocations
and aggression on the part of the imperialists
are countless. There is nothing new in this.
What is new is that all the imperialist prob-
ings in addition to being conclusively exposed,
are firmly repelled, and the attempts made
by the imperialists to start local wars are
being thwarted.

The present balance of world forces enables
the socialist camp and the other peace forces
to set themselves, for the first time in history,
the entirely realistic task of forcing the im-
perialists to refrain, for fear of seeing their
system destroyed, from starting a world war.

In connection with the possibility of pre-
venting a world war, I should like to deal
with the prospects of the further development
of the general crisis of capitalism. It is com-
mon knowledge that both the first and the
second world wars greatly influenced the rise
and aggravation of the general crisis of capi-
talism. Can it be inferred from this that world
war is an indispensable condition for the
further intensification of the general crisis
of capitalism? Such an inference would be
absolutely wrong, because it distorts the Marx-
ist-Leninist theory of socialist revolution and
inverts the true causes of revolution. A pro-
letarian revolution is not caused solely by
military cataclysms; first and foremost it is
the result of the development of the class

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WORLD MARXIST REVIEW 4

Struggle and of the internal contradictions
of capitalism.

It is obvious that the rise of the socialist
world system, the rapid disintegration of the
colonial system and the unprecedented growth
of the struggle of the working class for its
rights and interests are sapping the founda-
tions of capitalism and intensifying its gen-
eral crisis. Capitalism has suffered irretriev-
able losses from these blows. This applies
both to the capitalist system as a whole and
to the main capitalist country—the United
States.

The strongest capitalist country has been
affected by the general crisis more than any
other capitalist country. Since the war the
United States, with its frequencey of econom-
ic shocks, has already experienced three
slumps — 1948-49, 1953-54 and especially
in 1957-58.

U.S. industrial production last year, accord-
ing to the American press, rose by only two
per cent, and as for this year, U.S. economists
forecast not a rise, but a 3.7 per cent drop
in production. Soviet production in 1960 rose
roughly by 10 per cent.

It is none other than monopoly capital in
the United States that shows inability to
utilize the available productive forces. The
richest country of the capitalist world is also
the country of the greatest chronic unemploy-
ment. Obviously garbled official U.S. figures
show that the wholly unemployed in the Unit-
ed States rose from 2,600,000 in 1956 to 3,-
800,000 in 1959, and exceeded 4,000,000
towards the end of 1960. Furthermore, there
are millions of part-time employed in the
United States.

Growing under-capacity operation of in-
dustry is a permanent factor in America. In
1959, some 37 per cent of the U.S. steel
industry’s production capacity was idle, de-
spite the fact that steel output rose somewhat
after a steep decline in the crisis year of
1958. By the end of 1960 less than half the
production capacity of the U.S. steel industry
was in operation. Despite the big increase
in military appropriations, the rate of growth
of production has slowed down in the post-
war years, barely exceeding the growth of
population. Between 1956 and 1959, U.S. in-
dustrial production per head of population
remained at the same level.

Although the United States is still the main
economic financial and military force of con-
temporary imperialism, its weight in the
economy and politics of the capitalist world
is declining. The share of the United States

in the industrial output of the capitalist coun-
tries dropped from 54 per cent in 1950 to
47-48 per cent in 1959. In 1950 the United
States produced 57.4 per cent of all the steel
produced in the capitalist countries; by 1959
output had dropped to 40.4 per cent. The
share of the United States in the total-exports
of the capitalist countries shrank from about
30 per cent in 1946 to 21 per cent in 1953,
and to 17.4 per cent in 1959. Nevertheless,
the U.S. monopolists were, and still are, the
greatest usurers and exploiters of peoples.

There is every reason for saying that both
economically and in the sphere of internation-
al affairs the principal capitalist power has
entered a phase of growing difficulties and
crises—the twilight phase.

As for the economy of the other capitalist
countries, it, too, is characterized by greater
instability.

Although at present the capitalist world is
not split into two imperialist camps, as was
the case on the eve of the two world wars,
it is nonetheless far from being united, and
is being rent by bitter internal conflicts. The
shop-window of the so-called ‘Atlantic soli-
darity” is a cloak for an unprepossessing
picture of internal strife and conflict and
increasing resistance to United States leader-
ship and diktat. The rebirth of German mili-
tarism and revenge-seeking in the heart of
Europe is restoring the complex tangle of
Anglo-German, Franco-German and other im-
perialist contradictions. One has only to com-
pare the present state of capitalism with what
it was at the end of the Second World War,
to see that its general crisis has become much
deeper.

Having profoundly analyzed the interna-
tional situation as a whole, the Meeting
reached a conclusion of very great theoretical
and political significance, namely, that “a
new stage has begun in the development of
the general crisis of capitalism.” The feature
of this new stage is that it originated, not
in the conditions of a world war, but in the
circumstances of competition and struggle
between the two systems, of the ever-growing
changes in the balance of forces in favor
of socialism, and of pronounced aggravation
of all the contradictions of imperialism, in
circumstances when the successful strug-
gle of the peace supporters for. peaceful
coexistence has prevented the imperialists
from wrecking world peace by their aggres-
sive actions, in an atmosphere of rising strug-
gle for democracy, national liberation and
socialism by the. masses. All this speaks of

8 WORLD MARXIST REVIEW

the further aggravation of the general crisis
of capitalism.

Our militant comrades in the Communist
parties in the capitalist countries take cog-
nizance of this when defining their further
tactical line in the struggle for the working-
class cause. And we can confidently say that
the immediate future harbors new successes
for the combined forces of world socialism,
the working class and the national-liberation
movement.

2. All-Out Building of Communism in the
USSR and Prospects for the Socialist
World System

Comrades, the socialist world system is the
great motive power of our time. The inter-
national working class and its Communist
vanguard see their duty in reinforcing in
every way the might and unity of the social-
ist camp—the bastion of peace, freedom and
independence of the nations.

You will recall that the Meeting devoted
close attention to matters associated with the
further development of the socialist world
system. The Statement adopted by the Meet-
ing formulated important theoretical and po-
litical propositions on these matters. I should
like to dwell on some of them.

As.pointed out in the Statement, the car-
dinal task of the socialist countries is to make
use of the possibilities inherent in socialism
and to surpass the capitalist world system in
the shortest possible term in the physical
volume of industrial and agricultural output
and, thereafter, outstrip the most developed
capitalist countries in output per head of
population and in the standard of living.

The period since the previous meeting of
Representatives of Communist and Workers’
Parties in 1957 has seen a steep rise in the
economic strength and international prestige
of the socialist world system. Between 1957
and 1959 industrial production in the social-
ist countries rose 37.1 per cent, compared
with a 7.4 per cent increase in the capitalist
countries. In the same period, output in the
Soviet Union increased 23 per cent, and in
the United States only 4.6 per cent. The aver-
age annual rate of growth amounted to 17
per cent for all the socialist countries, and
to 3.6 per cent for the capitalist countries.
The average annual rate in the Soviet Union
was 10.9 per cent, in the United States it
was 2.3 per cent.

The changes effected by socialism in all
spheres of life in the People’s Democracies
are so profound that we can now say with

feelings of legitimate pride that not only
in the Soviet Union but also in all the other
countries of the socialist camp, the socio-
economic possibilities of capitalist restora-
tion have been abolished. The socialist world
system has entered upon a new stage in its
development.

The Central Committee of the Communist
Party of the Soviet Union held that it was
its duty to inform the world Communist for-
um about the work of our Party and to ac-
quaint it with our immediate prospects.

Our Party is concentrating on the all-out
building of communist society. The main
tasks here are: first, to establish the material
and technological base of communism; sec-
ond, to develop from this base communist
social relations; and, third, to mould the man
of the future communist society.

The Seven-Year Plan is a vital stage in
establishing the material and technological
base of communism in our country. Accord-
ing to the plan figures, industrial output was
scheduled to go up 17 per cent during the
first two years of the Seven-Year Plan. Ac-
tually the rise was nearly 23 per cent. If the
present rates of development are maintained,
industrial output will rise approximately 100
per cent in the seven years, instead of the
80 per cent envisaged in the Plan. This will
mean about 90,000 million rubles’ worth of
industrial output (in terms of the new cur-
rency) in excess of Plan. You will get a bet-
ter idea of what this figure means if you re-
call that Lenin proudly reported to the Fourth
Congress of the Communist International that
in 1922 our country was able for the first
time to invest 20 million rubles in heavy in-
dustry.

Such was the modest sum in 1922. And
look at the possibilities we have today!

Here I should like to say a few words
about our iron and steel industry. The Seven-
Year Plan fixed a target of 86-91 million tons
of steel by 1965. Last year’s output was 65
million tons. The increase planned for 1961
is six million tons. This will bring the total
to 71 million. In the event of our raising the
annual output for the remaining years of the
Plan by not more than the 1961 figure, we
will be producing at an annual rate of 95
million tons by the end of 1965. And should
we push steel production at the same rate as
during the first three years of the Plan, we
could raise steel output to 100-102 million
tons by 1965.

But in all probablity we will not pursue a
policy of developing iron and steel to the

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WORLD MARXIST REVIEW 9

full extent of our potential. The likelihood is
that we will channel part of our capital in-
vestments to agriculture and light industry.
Communism cannot be built by machines and
ferrous and non-ferrous metals alone. People
should be able to eat well and dress well,
they should be properly housed and enjoy
other material and cultural amenities.

This is not a revision of our general line,
it is rather a rational utilization of our ma-
terial possibilities. When we were surrounded
by enemies and our industry was weaker
than that of the capitalist countries, we eco-
nomized on everything, even on schools, as
Lenin said. Things are different now: we
have a powerful industry, and our armed
forces are equipped with the most modern
weapons. Why, then, deny ourselves the
things that we can have without detriment
to the further development of our socialist
state.

At present the Central Committee of the
Party aiid the Government are drawing up a
general economic development plan for 1960-
1980. Truly exciting is the perspective opened
up by establishing the material and techno-
logical base of communism, by making the
people prosperous through completing the
grand projects mapped out by Lenin, our
immortal leader and teacher.

The rise in the cultural level of the masses
is one of the really great achievements of
socialism. In 1959, there were 2,200,000 siu-
dent in the higher and specialized secondary
schools of our country, and today the number
of non-manual workers is in excess of 20
million.

Of the people engaged in manual labor
the numbers with a secondary and university
education have grown considerably. Before
the revolution no worker or peasant had a
secondary, to say nothing of a university,
education; whereas now, according to the last
census, 32 per cent of the citizens engaged
in manual labor have had a secondary or uni-
versity education, including 39 per cent of
the workers and 21 per cent of the collective
farmers. These figures show convincingly that
we have made tangible progress in the gra-
dual elimination of the essential distinctions
between mental and manual labor.

The results of this great cultural revolu-
tion are clearly reflected in the achievements
of Soviet science. The whole world admires
these achievements. The three Soviet earth
satellites, the solar satellite, our luniks and
spaceships—all this is a striking indication
of the success and superiority of the socialist

system, of the socialist genius of the people
who are building communim.

The first stage of the all-out building of
communism, as represented by the Seven-
Year Plan, is also a decisive stage in fulfilling
the basic economic task of the USSR. In
1950, the industrial output of the Soviet
Union amounted to less than 30 per cent of
U.S. output, today it is approximately 60 per
cent. Economists estimate that by 1965 the
Soviet Union will have surpassed the United
States in physical output, and somewhere
around 1970 in output per head of population.

The peoples of the other socialist countries,
too, are working selflessly on the basic eco-
nomic task of socialism. The time is not far
off when socialism will assume first place
in world production and capitalism will suf-
fer defeat in this decisive sphere of human
endeavor—the sphere of material production.
As a result of fulfilling and overfulfilling the
Seven-Year Plan and the rapid rates of eco-
nomic development in the People’s Democra-
cies, the countries of the socialist world sys-
tem will be producing more than half of the
world industrial output.

Victory for the Soviet Union in its eco-
nomic competition with the United States,
and victory for the socialist system as a
whole over the capitalist system, will be a
major turning point in history, one that will
have a still more powerful revolutionizing
influence upon the working-class movement
of the world. And when this happens even
the most inveterate sceptics will see that so-
cialism alone provides everything needed for
man’s happiness and will make their choice
in favor of socialism.

The most important thing today is to win
time in the economic competition with capi-
talism. The faster our economic development,
the stronger we shall be economically and
politically, and the greater will be the in-
fluence of the socialist camp on the trend and
rate of development, on the future of the
world.

The Statement of the Meeting stresses the
need steadily to improve political and eco-
nomic work and continuously to perfect man-
agement of the national economy, the need
for scientifically-grounded socialist economic
management. Experience shows that the cor-
rect solution of these matters is highly im-
portant. We are devoting special attention to
the matter of gearing economic management
to the objective conditions, so as to avoid
running ahead and, equally, to avoid retard-
ing the rates of development.

FETE R: Cat PAB oy oe INS ns Vn UDO? nd

10 WORLD MARXIST REVIEW

Measures are being taken on a vast scale
in the USSR to make the utmost use of the
natural resources. Forty-one million hectares
of virgin and long-fallow land—an area equal
to that of several West-European countries—
have been brought under cultivation. A cas-
cade of giant hydro-electric stations has al-
most completely harnessed the waters of the
Volga. The Angara cascade will consist of
a chain of even larger hydro-electric stations.
including the more than 4,000,000-kw. Bratsk
station. Still more powerful stations of up to
5,000,000 kw. will harness the great Siberian
river, the Yenisei. One of the world’s richest
iron-ore deposits, the Kursk magnetic anom-
aly in the heart of the European part of the
country, is now being worked.

Oil derricks are spreading farther and farth-
er East. Three-fourths of the oil in pre-revo-
lutionary Russia was extracted in the Baku
region. And while the oil output in Baku
has more than doubled since the Revolution,
yet in 1959 it was less than 15 per cent of
the total Soviet oil output. The inexhaustible
mineral wealth of Siberia is being developed,
yielding millions of tons of ferrous, non-fer-
rous and rare metals, a wide range of other
mineral raw materials and industrial diamonds.
Millions of hectares of arid land are being
irrigated. Consideration is being given to re-
versing the flow of some of the biggest north-
ern rivers. These are just a few examples to
show what fruitful results are obtained
through scientifically-grounded methods of
economic management which enable us to
make full use of the creative possibilities of
socialism.

Elaboration of the theoretical questions
posed by everyday life is an important and
organic part of the work of the Party in
guiding the communist construction. The prac-
tice of communist construction raises many
questions for which we have no ready an-
swer. In building communism we are follow-
ing as yet unexplored paths. Man has as yet
no exhaustive theoretical grounding and ex-
perience in organizing all the asnects of social
life in communist conditions. Marxists, it is
true, have a good knowledge of the general
laws and principles which will shape the mode
of life under communism. But today knowl-
edge of the general laws alone no longer suf-
fices. Communism has emerged from the
sphere of theory into the sphere of practice.
The Party is resolving the new problems of
communist construction correctly because it
treats Marxism-Leninism not as a dogma but
as a creative, constantly-developing doctrine.

In carrying out the practical tasks of build-
ing communism, our Party is continuously
developing Marxist-Leninist theory. The great
Lenin teaches us that the revolutionary Marx-
ist doctrine is inseparable from revolutionary
practice, that theory and practice are inter-
woven and supplement each other, that theory
lights the way for practice.

Allow me:to mention some of the theoretic-
al matters on which our Party has worked in
the recent few years. They are the questions
of the two phases of communism, of the tran-
sition from the first phase to the second,
higher phase, and questions concerning the
development of the productive forces and the
production relations du:ing the transition
from socialism to communism, the growing
over of socialist statehood into communist
public self-government, the communist edu-
cation of the working people, etc.

I should like to dwell for a moment on some
of these questions. As we advance towards
communism, management of the socialist eco-
nomy becomes more complicated and the links
between its branches and between the eco-
nomic regions of the country become closer.
Consequently, our Party devotes special atten-
tion to economic management and to plan-
ning. In 1957 we reorganized the management
of industry and building, abolished the minis-
tries in some branches of industry and set up
economic councils in the economic adminis-
trative regions. The purpose was to shift the
centre of gravity in the day-to-day manage-
ment of economic development to the local-
ities concerned, while retaining the principle
of centralized planning. As a result, demo-
cratic centralism has been further developed.
This is in keeping with Lenin’s words that,
with the advance towards communism and
the rise in the cultural level of the working
people, economic management will become
more and more democratic.

Further. Our Party has' worked out the
ways of elevating collective-farm and co-op-
erative property to the level of public prop-
erty and has indicated their merging into the
single form of communist property. The Party
has worked out and effected a series of
economic, political and organizational meas-
ures designed to invigorate and develop all
aspects of the collective-farm system and col-
lective-farm and co-operative property (e.g.,
reorganization of the machine-and-tractor sta-
tions, sale of machinery to the collective
farms, modification of the procurement sys-
tem and the price policy, despatch of per-
sonnel to the countryside, and others).

WORLD MARXIST REVIEW ll

Our Party is devoting close attention to
the correct application of the socialist prin-
ciple of distribution. It has demonstrated that
wage-levelling and weakening of incentives
are economically inept and wrong. It may be
recalled that in the past there had been devia-
tions from the principle of incentives, partic-
ularly in agriculture. These deviations caused
grave harm to agriculture and to the collec-
tive-farm system. Neglect of the material
needs of the working people and putting the
emphasis chiefly on enthusiasm and political
consciousness, on social and moral forms of
encouragement and reward, were detrimental
to the growth of production and the raising
of the standard of living. This had bad effects
at home and and even abroad, because it
hurt the prestige of the collective-farm sys-
tem and played into the hands of the enemies
of communism.

We have eliminated these shortcomings and
are working for consistent application of the
principle, “from each according to his ability,
to each according to his work.” This principle
makes labor obligatory for all. Its realization
is of immense importance for raising labor
productivity, improving skills, and for edu-
cating people in the spirit of a communist
attitude to labor as life’s prime necessity.
At the same time, our Party combines ma-
terial and moral stimuli. As we draw nearer
to communism, the role of the moral factor,
which is highly important even now, will
steadily increase. The appearance and the
spread of the movement for communist-work
teams, shops and enterprises is one of the
outstanding things in Soviet life.

The transition to the communist principle
of distribution to each according to his needs
will not be effected until the productive forces
and the productivity of labor attain a level
that will ensure an abundance of material
values, and, until labor becomes life’s prime
necessity for the members of society. At pres-
ent, the bulk of the national consumption fund
is distributed according to the quantity and
quality of labor done. At the same time, a
considerable portion of the working people’s
requirements are satisfied free of charge. Allo-
cations for social and cultural measures, pub-
lic education and the health services, which
all citizens enjoy free of charge, amount at
present to about 25,000 million rubles annu-
ally. For us, increasing the public funds for
personal consumption is a communist way
of raising the standard of living.

The Party is devoting close attention to
problems of the theory of the socialist state.

In our country, where exploiting classes have
long ceased to exist, there is taking place the
gradual withering away of the administrative
bodies, first and foremost of those exercis-
ing functions of compulsion. Our Party is
firmly following the line of extending democ-
racy, of transferring certain functions of the
state organs to the public organizations, of
encouraging public initiative in all spheres
of political and cultural life, of enlisting the
participation of the masses of the working
people in economic management, in main-
taining public order, in combating infringe-
ments of the law, etc. This line, far from
weakening socialist society, is strengthening
it and is in keeping with the perspective of
public self-government.

These and other questions of the theory
and practice of building communism will be
reflected in the new program of the Com-
munist Party of the Soviet Union. This pro-
gram, now being drafted, will be discussed by
the Party and adopted at its forthcoming
Twenty-Second Congress.

The Statement expresses the common striv-
ing of the Marxist-Leninist parties to see
things in each of the socialist countries going
smoothly, that the problems stemming from
the building of socialism and communism be
solved correctly, in the interest of the respec-
tive country and the socialist camp as a
whole.

In this connection emphasis is laid on the
very great importance of the collective expe-
rience of the socialist camp, accumulated on
the basis of the socialist construction in the
different countries.

Our Party is closely studying the experience
of the fraternal parties in these countries, for
they are contributing much that is valuable
to the Marxist-Leninist theory of building the
new society. The accumulated collective ex-
perience of socialist construction is a valu-
able asset of the entire international Com-
munist movement. The study and correct ap-
plication of this experience by all the fraternal
parties is a primary condition for the develop-
ment of every socialist country.

The prototype of the new society for all
mankind is being created on the part of the
globe occupied by the socialist world system.
This places a special responsibility on the
Communist parties in the socialist countries.
With proper political and economic guidance,
which takes into account both the general
laws governing the building of socialism and
the specific features of the respective coun-
tries and the peculiarities and demands of

12 : WORLD MARXIST REVIEW

each stage of development, we shall be able
to utilize with still greater effect the advan-
tages of socialism and attain new successes.

The countries of the socialist world system
are drawing closer to each other; their co-
operation in all fields of endeavor is growing.
This is a natural development. There are no
insoluble contradictions between the socialist
countries. The more developed and economic-
ally stronger are rendering disinterested fra-
ternal aid to those less developed. For in-
stance, some 500 industrial enterprises and
installations have been built in the fraternal
socialist countries with Soviet help. Our loans
and credits to these countries amount to
7,800 million rubles in the new currency. At
the same time we are bound to acknowledge
that the fraternal socialist countries are aid-
ing in the development of the Soviet economy.

The socialist world system is an aggregate
of the national economies of sovereign inde-
pendent countries. The steady strengthening
of contacts between the national economies
is a law of the system as a whole. There are
good grounds for saying that the further de-
velopment of the socialist countries will be
along the lines of consolidating the world
system of socialism. As the Statement points
out, the Marxist-Leninist parties at the helm
in these countries are unanimous in their
striving actively to further this process.

They are working jointly for a correct solu-
tion of the problems concerned with speciali-
zation and co-ordination of production, with
the international division of labor, and by
so doing are contributing to a fuller utilization
of the advantages of socialism. Co-ordination
of the national-economic plans is the main
form of pooling the production efforts of the
socialist countries at the present stage. It is
in the interest of all the socialist countries to
perfect this work, especially in view of the
task of drawing up long-term plans for these
countries.

The consolidation of the common economic
base of the socialist world system and the
creation of the material base for the more or
less simultaneous transition of all the peo-
ples of the socialist system to communism will
be accelerated to the extent that the internal
resources of each of the countries and the
advantages of the socialist international divi-
sion of labor are fully utilized; this will result
in evening up the various levels of economic
development. By gradually abolishing the his-
torically conditioned disparity in levels of
economic development we are showing the
peoples of the world the communist way of

doing away with the economic and cultural
backwardness caused by imperialism. The ef-
fectiveness of this way was first demonstrat-
ed by the formerly backward peoples of Cen-
tral Asia and the Caucasus, who, with the
generous aid rendered by the more developed
socialist nations, the Russian nation first and
foremost, rapidly overcame their backward-
ness and caught up with the industrially de-
veloped regions of the country. This process
is now taking place throughout the socialist
system.

It is our common duty to continue to
strengthen in every way unity, co-operation
and mutual aid among the socialist countries.
The Statement of the Meeting reads: “The
Communist and Workers’ parties constantly
educate the working people in the spirit of
socialist internationalism and intolerance of
all manifestations of nationalism and chauvin-
ism. The firm unity of the Communist and
Workers’ parties and of the peoples of the
socialist countries, and their loyalty to the
Marxist-Leninist teaching are the main source
of the strength and invincibility of each so-
cialist country and of the socialist camp as a
whole.”

The Communist and Workers’ parties have
correctly defined, in the spirit of Marxism-
Leninism and proletarian internationalism, the
principles governing the relations among the
socialist countries and nations. It stands to
reason that some shortcomings and rough
edges are bound to appear in such a momen-
tous undertaking. But the socialist community
is characterized, not by incidental shortcom-
ings, but by the essentially international nat-
ure of socialism, by the international policy
of the fraternal parties and countries and the
epoch-making successes achieved thanks to
this policy. As to the shortcomings, we must
remove them, guided by the principles of
Marxism-Leninism, of international solidarity
and fraternal friendship, seeing our main aim
in consolidating the socialist camp. The Soviet
Union has always sacredly fulfilled its inter-
national duty, putting the interests of the
unity of the socialist countries and of the
international Communist movement first. Our
Party will steadfastly adhere to this policy.

Closer unity of the socialist countries on
the basis of the principles of Marxism-Lenin-
ism will provide still better opportunities for
solving the paramount problems of the day
in a new way, in the interests of peace, de-
mocracy and socialism.

WORLD MARXIST REVIEW 13

3. Prevention of War Is the Question
of Questions

Comrades, the Meeting focussed its atten-
tion on the issues of war and peace. Those
present were conscious that the matter of
preventing a nuclear holocaust is the great
and vital issue facing mankind.

Lenin pointed out that since the time of the
First World War the issue of war and peace
had become the basic issue of the policy of
all countries, a matter of life and death for
tens of millions. Lenin’s words sound even
more forcefully today, when mass annihila-
tion weapons hold the threat of unprecedented
destruction and death to hundreds of millions
of people. The most pressing task today is
to avert such a catastrophe.

The Meeting charted ways and means of
making still more effective use of the new
possibilities of averting world war afforded
‘by the rise of the socialist camp and its
growing might, and also by the new balance
of forces in the world. The peoples believe
that the Communists will use the might of
the socialist system and the greater strength
of the international working class to rid man-
kind of the horrors of war.

Marx, Engels and Lenin saw the historic
mission of the working class and its Com-
munist vanguard not only in abolishing op-
pression, exploitation, poverty, and lack of
rights, but also in delivering mankind from
sanguinary wars.

Lenin instilled in our Party the spirit of
uncompromising struggle against imperialism,
for durable peace and friendship among all
nations. These principles have always been
the essence of our foreign policy. Our Party
remembers Lenin’s words to the effect that
capitalism, even while disintegrating and dy-
ing, is still capable of bringing misfortune
to mankind. Our Party, always vigilantly on
guard against the danger emanating from im-
perialism, has educated the Soviet people
acccrdingly, doing everything to prevent the
enemy from taking us by surprise. We alert
the peoples to the danger of war in order
to sharpen their vigilance and rouse them to
activity, to rally them in the struggle to
avert world war.

The stand taken by the Communist Party
of the Soviet Union on the questions of war
and peace is known to all. It has been stated
on more than one occasion in the decisions
of its congresses and in other Party docu-
ments.

Wars arose with the division of society into
classes. This means that the breeding ground
of war will be completeiy abolished only when
society is no longer divided into hostile, an-
tagonistic classes. With the victory of the
working class throughout the world, with the
triumph of socialism, which will destroy all
the social and national causes giving rise to
wars, mankind will be able to rid itself of
this dreadful scourge.

In the present conditions we must disting-
uish the following kinds of war: world wars,
local wars, and wars of liberation or popular
uprisings. This is necessary in order to work
out correct tactics in regard to each.

Let us begin with the problem of world
wars. The Communists are the most resolute
opponents of world wars, as they are of wars
between countries in general. Only the im-
perialists need these wars in order to seize
foreign territories and to enslave and plunder
the peoples. Prior to the rise of the socialist
world camp, the working class was unable
to exert a decisive influence on the decision
of the question whether there would or would
not be a world war. In those circumstances
the finest representatives of the working class
advanced the slogan of turning an imperialist
war into a civil war, that is, of the working
class and all working people using the situa-
tion created by the war to take power. A
situation of this kind set in during the First
World War, and it was used in classical
fashion by Lenin and the Bolshevik Party.

In our time the conditions are different. The
socialist world camp with its powerful eco-
nomy and armed forces exerts an ever-grow-
ing influence on the decision of questions of
war and peace. To be sure, acute contradic-
tions and antagonisms between the imperialist
countries and the urge to profit at the expense
of the weaker still exist. However, the im-
perialists are compelled to heed the Soviet
Union and the entire socialist camp, and fear
to start a war between themselves. They are
trying to tone down their differences. They
have formed military blocs and have entangled
many capitalist countries in them. And al-
though these blocs are torn by internal con-
flicts, their members are united, as they them-
selves admit, by their hatred of communism
and, naturally, by the common nature and
aspirations of the imperialists.

In the conditions of today the likelihood
is that there will not be wars between the
capitalist, imperialist countries, although this
eventuality cannot be ruled out. The imperial-

14 WORLD MARXIST REVIEW

ists are preparing war chiefly against the
socialist countries, above all against the So-
viet Union, the most powerful of the socialist
countries. They would like to sap our might
and by so doing restore the one-time rule of
monopoly capital.

The task is to raise insurmountable obstacles
to the unleashing of war by the imperialists.
Our possibilities for putting roadblocks in
the way of the warmongers are growing, so
much so that we can avert a world war. It
stands to reason that we cannot completely
exclude the possibility of war, since imperial-
ist countries continue to exist, but it is now
much more difficult for the imperialists to
start a war than was the case heretofore,
prior to the rise of the powerful socialist
camp. The imperialists can start a war, but
they cannot do so without giving thought to
the consequences.

I have had occasion to say that even
Hitler, had he had an inkling that his reckless
gamble would end in the way it did and that
he would be forced to commit suicide, would
in all probability have thought twice before
starting the war against the Soviet Union.
But at that time there were only two
socialist countries — the Soviet Union and
the Mongolian People’s Republic. Yet we
smashed the aggressors, and in doing so we
made use also of the contradictions between
the imperialist states.

Today the situation is entirely different. At
present the imperialist camp is opposed by
the socialist countries, and they are a mighty
force. It would be wrong to underestimate
the strength of the socialist camp, its influ-
ence on world developments and, consequent-
ly, on deciding the question whether there
is to be war or not. Now that there is a
mighty socialist camp with powerful armed
forces, the peoples can undoubtedly prevent
war and thus ensure peaceful coexistence pro-
vided they rally all their forces for active
struggle against the bellicose imperialists.

Now about local wars. There is much talk
in the imperialist camp today about local wars,
and the imperialists are even making small-
calibre atomic weapons to be used in such
wars. There is even a special theory on local
wars. Is this mere chance? Not at all. Some
of the imperialist groups fear that a world
war might end in the complete destruction of
capitalism, and for this reason they are bank-
ing on local wars.

There have been local wars in the past and
they may break out again. But the chances

of starting wars even of this kind are dwindl-
ing. A small-scale imperialist war, no matter
which of the imperialists starts it, may devel-
op into a world thermonuclear and missile
war. We must, therefore, fight against both
world war and against local wars.

An example of a local war started by the
imperialists was the aggression of Britain,
France and Israel against Egypt. They wanted
to strangle Egypt and intimidate the other
Arab countries fighting for their independence,
to scare the peoples of Asia and Africa. When
we were in London, British statesmen, Mr.
Eden included, spoke to us quite frankly about
their desire to settle accounts with Egypt.
We told them plainly: “If you start a war,
you will lose it, we will not be neutral.”
Eventually, when the war did break out, the
United Nations formally condemned it, but
this did not upset the aggressors; they went
ahead with their dirty business and thought
they would soon reach their goal. The Soviet
Union, and the socialist camp as a whole,
came to the defense of Egypt. The stern warn-
ing which the Soviet Government gave to
Eden and Guy Mollet stopped the war. A
local war, the gamble in Egypt failed ignomi-
niously.

That was in 1956 when the balance of
forces between the socialist and imperialist
countries was not quite as favorable to us
as it is now. At that time we were not as
powerful as we are today. Moreover, the
rulers of Britain, France and Israel banked
on profiting from the difficulties that had
arisen in Hungary and Poland. Representa-
tives of the imperialist countries whispered
to us, “You have your difficulties in Hungary,
we have ours in Egypt, so don’t meddle in
our affairs.” But we told the whisperers what
we thought of them. We refused to shut our
eyes to their knavish acts. We intervened,
and we frustrated their aggression.

There you have an example of how a local
war, started by the imperialists, was nipped
in the bud by the intervention of the Soviet
Union and the entire socialist camp.

I have said that local wars may recur. It
is our task, therefore, always to be on the
alert, to summon to action the forces of the
socialist camp, the people of the other coun-
tries and all peace-loving forces, in order to
prevent wars of aggression. If the people of
all countries are united and rallied, if they
fight indefatigably and combine their forces
both in each country and on an international
scale, wars can be prevented.

WORLD MARXIST REVIEW 15

Now about national-liberation wars. Recent
examples of wars of this kind are the armed
struggle waged by the people of Vietnam or
the present war of the Algerian people, which
is now in its seventh year.

These wars, which began as uprisings of
colonial peoples against their oppressors, de-
veloped into guerilla wars.

There will be liberation wars as long as
imperialism exists, as long as colonialism ex-
ists. Wars of this kind are revolutionary wars.
Such wars are not only justified, they are in-
evitable, for the colonialists do not freely be-
stow independence on the peoples. The peo-
ples win freedom and independence only
through struggle, including armed struggle.

Why was it that the U.S. imperialists, who
were eager to help the French colonialists, did
not venture directly to intervene in the war
in Vietnam? They did not do so because they
knew that if they gave France armed assist-
ance, Vietnam would receive the same kind
of assistance from China, the Soviet Union
and the other socialist countries, and that
the fighting could develop into a world war.
The outcome of the war is known—North
Vietnam won.

A similar war is being waged today in AIl-
geria. What kind of a war is it? It is an up-
rising of Arab people against French colonial-
ists. It has assumed the form of a guerrilla
war. The imperialists of the USA and Britain
are helping their French allies with arms.
Moreover, they have allowed France, a party
to NATO, to transfer troops from Europe to
fight against the Algerian people. The people
of Algeria, too, get help from neighboring
countries and others sympathizing with their
love of freedom. But this is a liberation war,
a war of independence waged by the people.
It is a sacred war. We recognize such wars;
we have helped and shall continue to help
peoples fighting for their freedom.

Or take Cuba. A war was fought there too.
It began as an uprising against a tyrannical
regime, backed by U.S. imperialism. Batista
was a puppet of the United States and the
United States helped him actively. However,
the USA did not directly intervene with its
armed forces in the Cuban war. Led by Fidel
Castro, the people of Cuba won.

Is there a likelihood of such wars recur-
ring? Yes, there is. Are uprisings of this kind
likely to recur? Yes, they are. But wars of
this kind are popular uprisings. Is there the
likelihood of conditions in other countries

reaching the point where the cup of the popu-
lar patience overflows and they take to arms?

Yes, there is such a likelihood. What is the
attitude of the Marxists to such uprisings? A
most favorable attitude. These uprisings can-
not be identified with wars between countries,
with local wars, because the insurgent people
are fighting for the right to self-determination,
for their social and independent national de-
velopment; these uprisings are directed
against the corrupt reactionary regimes,
against the colonialists. The Communists sup-
port just wars of this kind wholeheartedly and
without reservations and they march in the
van of the peoples fighting for liberation.

Comrades, mankind has arrived at the stage
in history when it is in a position to solve
problems that were too much for previous
generations. This applies also to the problem
of all problems, that of preventing world war.

The working class, which today rules over
a vast area of the world and in time will rule
over all the world, cannot allow the forces
doomed by history to bring down hundreds
of millions into the grave with them. For a
world war in the conditions of today would
be waged with missiles and nuclear weapons,
that is, it would be the most destructive war
in all history.

Among the H-bombs already tested there
are bombs each of which is several times
more powerful than all the explosives used in
the Second World War and, indeed, ever since
man appeared on earth. Scientists have esti-
mated that the explosion of a single H-bomb
in an industrial area would kill up to 1,500,000
outright and bring death to another 400,000
through radiation. Even a medium hydrogen
bomb would be enough to wipe out a large
city. According to British scientists four mega-
ton bombs, one each for London, Birmingham,
Lancashire and Yorkshire, would kill at least
20 million. According to data supplied by U.S.
experts to the Senate, the anticipated casual-
ties in the United States in 24 hours of nuclear
war would range from 50 to 75 million people.
The American physicist Linus Pauling says
that the areas likely to receive powerful nuc-
lear blows are inhabited by a total of about a
thousand million people and that 500 to 750
million people would be likely to perish within
60 days of a nuclear blow. Nor would nuclear
war spare the people in the countries not
directly subjected to the bombing; in particu-
lar, millions would die as a result of radia-
tion.

We know that if the imperialist madmen
were to begin a world war, the peoples would
wipe out capitalism. But we are resolutely
opposed to war, because we are concerned

i6 WORLD MARXIST REVIEW

for the fate of mankind, its present and its
future. We know that the first to suffer in
the event of war would be the working peo-
ple and their vanguard — the working class.

We remember how Lenin put the question
of the destiny of the working class. Just after
the revolution, when the first country of the
workers and peasants found itself besieged, he
said, “if we can save the working man, save
the main productive force of society — the
worker — we Shall get everything back, but,
should we fail to save him, we are lost .. .”
(Collected Works, Russ. Ed., Vol. 29, pp.
334-335.)

There exists in the worla today, not just
one country of workers and peasants, but a
whole system of socialist countries. It is our
duty to safeguard peace and ensure the peace-
ful development of this. grand creation of the
international working class, to protect the
peoples of all countries from a new war of
annihilation. The victory of socialism on a
world scale, inevitable by virtue of the laws
of history, is no longer far off. War between
countries is not needed for this victory.

A sober consideration of what a nuclear
war implies is indispensable if we are to pur-
sue a consistent policy of averting war and
of mobilizing the masses for the purpose of
doing so. For the realization by the masses of
what a nuclear war means strengthens their
resolve to fight against war. It is necessary,
therefore, to warn the masses about the deadly
consequences of a new world war and arouse
their righteous wrath against those who are
plotting this crime. The possibility of averting
war is not a gift from heaven. Peace cannot
be had by request. It can be secured only by
an active, purposeful struggle. That is why we
have been waging this struggle, and will con-
tinue to do so.

The entire foreign policy of the Soviet Union
is aimed at strengthening peace. We have used
and will continue to use the growing might
of our country, not to threaten anyone, not
to arouse war-like passions, but in order to
pursue a steadfast policy of combating the
war danger and averting world war.

We have always held that we stand for
friendly relations with all peoples for the
benefit of peace, in keeping with the prin-
ciples of peaceful coexistence.

Comrades, experience has demonstrated the
soundness of the Leninist policy of peaceful
coexistence, the policy constantly pursued by
the Soviet Union and other socialist countries.
For our Party the policy of peaceful coexist-
ence, which we have inherited from Lenin,

is the general line of its foreign policy. Peace-
ful coexistence is the highway of the relations
between the socialist and capitalist countries.

Consistent implementation of the policy of
peaceful coexistence strengthens the positions
of the world socialist system, furthers the
growth of its economic might, international
prestige and influence, and provides favorable
opportunities for it in the peaceful competi-
tion with capitalism.

And because the socialist countries pursue
a correct policy, a policy of active struggle
against the imperialist warmongers, the pres-
tige of the Soviet Union and the other social-
ist countries is higher than ever. It is a fact
that the socialist countries today are in an
extremely favorable international position.
The prestige of the fraternal parties in the
capitalist countries, parties which carry on
their work in particularly difficult conditions,
is likewise growing daily. The whole world
now acknowledges that the active and effec-
tive foreign policy of the Soviet Union and
the other socialist countries, which carries
great weight, is winning the support of addi-
tional millions for peace and socialism.

This active struggle for peace imparts a
dynamic quality to the foreign policy actions
of the socialist countries. In recent years the
initiative in the world arena has belonged to
the Soviet Union and other socialist countries.
while the imperialist countries and their gov-
ernments have had to fall back on the de-
fensive. Their prestige and international in-
fluence have never been as low as they are
now.

The policy of peaceful coexistence promotes
the growth of the forces of progress, of the
forces fighting for socialism; in the capitalist
countries it facilitates the work of the Com-
munist parties and the other progressive or-
ganizations of the working class, makes it
easier for the people to combat the aggressive
war blocs and foreign military bases, and con-
tributes to the success of the national-libera-
tion movement.

The policy of peaceful coexistence is, then
as far as its social content is concerned, a
form of intense economic, political and ideo-
logical struggle between the proletariat and
the aggressive forces of imperialism in the
world arena.

The struggle against imperialism can suc-
ceed only if its aggressive actions are firmly
resisted. Scolding will not halt the imperialist
adventurers. There is only one way in which
they can be curbed: steady strengthening of
the economic, political and military power of

WORLD MARXIST REVIEW Wy

the socialist countries, vigorous consolidation
and reinforcement of the world revolutionary
movement, mobilization of the people for the
struggle to avert war.

The Central Committee of the Party and
the Soviet Government will continue to do
everything to increase the military might of
our country, since the imperialists are con-
tinuing the arms drive.

In rebuffing the aggressive actions of im-
perialism, our Party and Government always
display firmness and self-control. In upholding
the interests of the socialist camp, we invari-
ably strive to direct developments in such a
way as not to allow imperialist provocateurs
to launch a new world war.

We see our task as that of exposing the
aggressive nature of all the military-political
alignments of the imperialists, such as NATO,
SEATO and CENTO, and in working for their
isolation and eventual abolition. We have re-
peatedly declared that we are ready, on this
condition, to dissolve the Warsaw Treaty
Organization. The nations of the world stand
to gain from the ending of military align-
ments.

This would be a real contribution to peace
and would bring about a better international
climate; it would be an achievement for the
policy of peaceful coexistence. All their efforts
notwithstanding, the imperialists have in re-
cent times failed to draw a single new state
into their military blocs. It is significant that
all the newly independent states have declar-
ed it their intention to pursue a policy of
non-participation in military blocs.

Of special importance for peace in Europe,
and not only in Europe, is the struggle against
renascent West German militarism. The Soviet
Union is waging this struggle together with
the GDR, Poland, Czechoslovakia and other
socialist countries in various ways, the most
important being the struggle for a peace trea-
ty. The initiative of the socialist states in
advancing a program for a peaceful settle-
ment of the German question and the solution,
on this basis, of the question of West Berlin,
has. done much to unmask the aggressive ele-
ments in the USA, the Federal Republic and
the other NATO countries as opponents of a
détente. The international position of the Ger-
man Democratic Republic—the outpost of so-
cialism in Western Europe—has been streng-
thened.

The positions of the USA, Britain and
France have proved to be especially vulnerable
in West Berlin. These powers still cling to
the old positions, but they cannot fail to

realize that sooner or later the occupation
regime in that city must be ended.

It is necessary to go ahead with bringing
the aggressive-minded imperialists to their
senses, and compelling them to reckon with
the real situation. And should they balk, then
we will take resolute measures, we will sign
a peace treaty with the German Democratic
Republic, since we are firmly resolved to
conclude at long last a peace treaty with Ger-
many, end the occupation regime in West Ber-
lin, and by so doing remove the thorn from
the heart of Europe.

Comrades, if prevention of a new war is
the question of questions, then disarmament
is the best way to do it. The Meeting of
representatives of the Marxist-Leninist parties
declared that the realization of the Soviet pro-
gram for general and complete disarmament
would be an act of historic importance.

Our struggle for disarmament is not a tac-
tical move. We sincerely want disarmament.
In this we stand squarely on Marxist-Leninist
ground. Engels pointed out as far back as the
end of the last century that disarmament,
which he described as the “guarantee of
peace,” was possible. In our times disarma-
ment was first advanced as a practical goal
by Lenin, and the first Soviet proposals for
complete disarmament—or, for partial disar-
mament — were made at the Genoa Confer-
ence.

The struggle for disarmament is a most im-
portant factor for the prevention of war. It is
an effective factor in the fight against im-
perialism. In this fight the socialist camp has
most of mankind on its side.

Peace and progress are our cherished ideals.
After all, the inaugural Manifesto of the First
International, written by Marx, contained the
appeal “to vindicate the simple laws of morals
and justice, which ought to govern the rela-
tions of private individuals, as the rules para-
mount of the intercourse of nations.” (Marx,
Engels, Sel. Works. F.L.P.H., Vol. I, p. 385.)

When we call for a world without arms
and without wars, we take into account, of
course, that in the conditions of today, with
two differing world social systems, there are
forces in the imperialist camp, and fairly
strong forces at that, who not only refuse
to support this call, but who are waging a
struggle against it.

The question of the struggle for communism
is a class question. In the case of the struggle
for peace, this is a question the solution of
which can unite not only the working class,
the peasantry and the petty bourgeoisie, but

18 WORLD MARXIST REVIEW

also that part of the bourgeoisie which sees
the real danger of a thermonuclear war.

Consequently, the slogan of the fight for
peace by no means contradicts the slogan of
the fight for communism. The two go hand
in hand, for in the eyes of the masses com-
munism appears as a force capable of saving
mankind from the horrors of a missile-nuclear
war, whereas imperialism is, increasingly, as-
sociated with war, as a system engendering
wars. That is why the slogan of the fight for
peace is, as it were, a companion of the slogan
of the fight for communism.

As correctly pointed out in the Statement,
“the peace movement is the broadest move-
ment of our time; it embraces people of di-
verse political and religious creeds, of diverse
social classes, who are all united by the noble
urge to prevent new wars and to secure an
enduring peace.” People of different social
strata, different political views and different
religious beliefs are represented among the
peace supporters.

The fight for disarmament is an active
fight against imperialism, for narrowing its
war potential. The peoples must do everything
to achieve the prohibition and destruction of
nuclear weapons and all other weapons of
wholesale annihilation. Peace will then be en-
sured and the peoples will be able to arrange
their lives in keeping with their wishes and
interests.

A primary condition for progress in disar-
mament is the mobilization of the people,
their growing pressure on the imperialist gov-
ernments.

Two trends can be observed in the policy
of the capitalist camp in relation to the social-
ist countries — one bellicose and aggressive.
the other, moderate and sober. Lenin pointed
to the need of establishing contacts with
those circles of the bourgeoisie which gravi-
tate towards pacifism, “‘be it even of the palest
hue.” (Collected Works, Russ. Ed., Vol. 33,
p. 236.) In the struggle for peace, he said, we
should not overlook also the saner represen-
tatives.of the bourgeoisie.

The soundness of these words is confirmed
by current events as well. Fear for the future
of capitalism haunts the ruling classes of the
imperialist camp. The more reactionary circles
are displaying a growing nervousness and ten-
dency towards reckless practices and aggres-
sion, by means of which they hope to mend
their fences. At the same time, there are also
among the ruling circles of these countries
those who know the danger to capitalism of

a new war. Hence the two trends: one leaning
towards war, the other towards accepting, in
one way or another, the idea of peaceful co-
existence.

The socialist countries take both of these
trends into account in their policy. They work
for negotiations and agreements with the cap-
italist countries on the basis of constructive
proposals and promote personal contact be-
tween statesmen of the socialist and capitalist
countries. Every opportunity should be used
as before to expose the cold-war men, those
who want to keep up the arms drive, and to
convince the masses that the socialist coun-
tries really mean what they say in working
to safeguard world peace.

The peoples are becoming increasingly
aware that it is the Communists who advocate
that relations between countries be based upon
the principle of peaceful coexistence, that it
is they who are the most ardent and consist-
ent fighters for peace. We can take pride in
the fact that peace and communism are being
more and more associated in the minds of
people.

The Communists believe that if all the pro-
gressive and peace-loving forces of our times
— the socialist countries, the international
working class, the national-liberation move-
ment, the newly established national states
and all other countries opposed to war, and
all supporters of peace — will wage a deter-
mined fight against the war danger, they will
be able to tie the hands of the warmongers
and prevent the catastrophe of another world
war. Every day bigger sections of the popula-
tion should be drawn into the struggle for
peace, and the passivity which unfortunately
still prevails among some sections in the bour-
geois countries overcome. “The struggle
against the threat of a new world war must
be waged now, not when atom and hydrogen
bombs begin to fall,” the Statement of the
Meeting stresses.

The fact that communism is the standard-
bearer of peace is one of the main sources of
its moral power, of its tremendous influence
over the masses. The banner of peace enables
us to rally the masses around us. By holding
aloft this banner we will be even more suc-
cessful.

The Communists consider it their sacred
duty to make full use of all the available op-
portunities to bridle the warlike forces of
imperialism and prevent a new war.

The international communist and working-
class movement has become so powerful and

WORLD MARXIST REVIEW 19

so well organized that it is now setting itself
the task of saving mankind from the ordeal
of another war. The Statement of the Meeting
says:

“The Communists see their historical mis-
sion not only in abolishing exploitation and
poverty on a world scale and in banishing for
all time the possibility of any kind of war
in the life of human society, but also in safe-
guarding humanity from the nightmare of a
new world war already in our time. The Com-
munist Parties of all countries will devote all
their strength and energy to this noble mis-
sion.”

4. Abolition of Colonialism and Perspectives
of the Further Development of the
Newly-Independent Countries

The peoples that have gained national inde-
pendence have become another mighty force
in the struggle for peace and social progress.

The national-liberation movement is strik-
ing telling biows at imperialism, strengthening

eace and accelerating social progress. At
present, Asia, Africa and Latin America are
the most important centres of the revolu-
tionary struggle against imperialism. Some 40
countries have won national independence
since the war. Nearly 1,500 million people
have cast off the chains of colonial slavery.

The Meeting with good reason noted that
the disintegration of the system of colonial
slavery under the impact of the national-
liberation movement is second in historical
significance only to the rise of the socialist
world system.

A splendid new chapter is now being opened
in the history of mankind. It is easy to imagine
the things that these peoples will do when
they have completely ousted the imperialists
from their countries and feel themselves the
masters of their destinies. This multiplies enor-
mously the progressive forces of mankind.

Take Asia, for example, that ancient cradle
of human civilization. Look at the inexhaust-
ible forces at the disposal of the peoples of
this continent! And what a great role the
valiant Arab peoples, those already liberated
or now in the process of being liberated from
political and economic dependence upon im-
perialism, and all the peoples of the Middle
East could play in resolving the issues now
confronting mankind!

The awakening of the people of Africa is
one of the most outstanding events of our
epoch. Dozens of countries in North and Cen-
tral Africa have already won independence.
The south of the continent is in ferment

and there is no doubt that the fascist dun-
geons in the Union of South Africa will crum-
ble to dust, that Rhodesia, Uganda and other
parts of Africa will become free.

The multiplying of the forces of the. na-
tional-liberation movement is due in large
measure to the fact that in recent years one
more front of active struggle against U.S.
imperialism, namely, Latin America, has
emerged. Only a little while ago that vast
continent was identified by a single concept
—America. And that concept accorded largely
with the facts, for Latin Ameria was bound
hand and foot to Yankee imperialism. Today,
the Latin American peoples are showing by
their struggle that the American continent is
not a manorial estate of the USA. Latin Ame-
rica is reminiscent of an active volcano. The
eruption of the liberation struggle has wiped
out dictatorial regimes in a number of the
countries. The thunder of the glorious Cuban
revolution has reverberated throughout the
worid. The Cuban revolution is not only repuls-
ing the onslaught of the imperialists; it is
spreading, signifying a new and higher stage
of the national-liberation struggle, when the
people themselves come to power, when the
people become the master of their wealth.
Solidarity with revolutionary Cuba is the duty
not only of the Latin American peoples, but
also of the socialist countries, the entire
international Communist movement. and the
proletariat all over the world. .

The national-liberation movement is an anti-
imperialist movement. Imperialism has become
much weaker with the disintegration of the
colonial system. Vast territories and large
masses of people have ceased, or are ceasing,
to serve as a reserve for it, as a source of
cheap raw materials and cannon fodder. Asian,
African and Latin American, countries, sup-
ported by the socialist countries and the pro-
gressive forces of the world, are more and
more frequently inflicting defeats upon the
imperialist powers and coalitions.

We were glad to welcome at the Moscow
Meeting representatives from the fraternal
Communist parties of the Asian, African and
Latin American countries, staunch fighters for
the independence and free development of the
peoples. Today there are Communist parties in
more than 50 countries of those continents.
This has extended the sphere of influence of
the Communist movement, making it truly
worldwide.

Addressing the Second All-Russian Con-
gress (1919) of the Communist Organizations
of the Eastern Peoples, Lenin said: “

20 WORLD MARXIST REVIEW

Whereas the Russian Bolsheviks were able to
make a breach in the old imperialism, to
take upon themselves the exceptionally diffi-
cult but also exceptionally noble task of pav-
ing new ways to revolution, you who repre-
sent the working masses of the East are faced
with a greater and even more novel task.”
(Collected Works, Russ. Ed., Vol. 30, pp. 137-
138.) Lenin saw that task in encouraging the
revolutionary urge of the working masses
for activity and organization irrespective of
the level they had attained, in using Commu-
nist theory in the specific conditions of their
countries, in merging with the proletarians
of other countries in common struggle. (Ibid.,
p. 141.)

This task had not yet been realized any-
where when Lenin first set it, and there was
no book to tell how it should be carried out.
The Communist parties in the countries
which are now fighting for national independ-
ence or which have already won it, are in an
incomparably more favorable position, for
there is now a vast store of experience in
applying Marxist-Leninist theory in the condi-
tions of countries and areas which capitalism
had doomed to age-long backwardness.

This experience gained by the world Com-
munist movement is a great treasure-house
for all Communists. Obviously, only the Party
operating in the country concerned can make
proper use of this experience and correctly
shape the policy to be pursued.

These parties are concentrating on the main
point of how best to approach their own peo-
ples,jhow to convince the masses that they
cannot win a better future unless they fight
against imperialism and the forces of internal
reaction, and how to strengthen international
solidarity with the socialist countries, with
the Communist vanguard of the working peo-
ple of the world.

The renovation of the world on the prin-
ciples of freedom, democracy and socialism, in
which we are now participating, is a great
historical process in which different revolu-
tionary and democratic movements unite and
co-operate, with socialist revolutions exerting
the determining influence. The successes of
the national-liberation movement, due in large
measure to the victories of socialism, in turn
strengthen the international positions of so-
cialism in the struggle against imperialism.
It is this truly Leninist concept of the historic-
al processes which forms the basis for the
policy of the Communist parties and socialist
countries, a policy aimed at strengthening the

close alliance with those peoples fighting for
independence or who have already won it.

Bourgeois and revisionist politicians claim
that the national-liberation movement devel-
ops independently of the struggle waged by
the working class for socialism, independently
of the support of the socialist countries, and
that the colonialists themselves bestow free-
dom on the peoples of the former colonies.
These fabrications are designed to isolate the
newly-independent states from the socialist
camp and are an attempt to prove that they
should act the role of a “third force” in the
international arena instead of opposing im-
perialism. Needless to say, this is a falsehood.

It is an historical fact that attempts made
by peoples to break the chains of colonialism
prior to the victory of the Great October
Socialist Revolution, failed History is the
proof that until socialism triumphed in at least
a part of the world there could be no question
of destroying colonialism.

The imperialist powers, above all the United
States, are doing their utmost to harness the
countries that have cast off the colonial yoke
to their system and thereby strengthen the
positions of world capitalism, to infuse it, as
bourgeois ideologists put it, with fresh blood,
to rejuvenate and consolidate it. If we look
the facts in the face, we shall have to admit
that the imperialists have powerful economic
levers with which to exert pressure on the
newly-independent countries. They still suc-
ceed in enmeshing some of the politically in-
dependent countries in the web of economic
dependence. Now that it is no longer possible
to establish outright colonial regimes, the im-
perialists resort to disguised forms and me-
thods of enslaving and plundering the coun-
tries that have attained freedom. At the same
time, the colonial powers back the internal re-
actionaries in all these countries; they impose
on them puppet dictatorial regimes and in-
volve them in aggressive blocs. Although there
are sharp contradictions between the imperial-
ist countries, they often take joint action
against the national-liberation movement.

But if we take account of all the factors
shaping the destinies of the peoples that have
shaken off colonial rule, we will see that in
the final analysis the trends of social progress
opposing imperialism are bound to prevail.

But these matters are resolved in bitter
struggle within each country. The Statement
of the Meeting contains important propositions
on the basic issues of the national-liberation
movement. It defines the tasks of the Com-
munist parties and their attitude to the various

WORLD MARXIST REVIEW 21

classes and social groups. In expressing the
identity of views of the Marxist-Leninist par-
ties, the Statement calls for the maximum util-
ization of the revolutionary possibilities of
the various classes and social strata and for
drawing all allies, no matter if inconsistent,
shaky and unstable, into the struggle against
imperialism.

The Communists are revolutionaries and it
would be a bad thing if they failed to discern
the new opportunities, to find the best ways
and the best means of reaching the goal.
Special note should be taken of the idea set
forth in the Statement about the formation
of national democratic states. The Statement
outlines the main characteristics of these
states and their tasks. It should be stressed
that in view of the great variety of conditions
in those countries where the peoples, having
achieved independence, are now moulding
their own way of life, a variety of ways of
solving the tasks of social progress is bound
to emerge.

The correct application of Marxist-Leninist
theory in the newly-independent countries con-
sists precisely in seeking the forms that take
cognizance of the peculiarities of the eco-
nomic, political and cultural lif? of the peoples
to unite all the sound forces of the nation,
to ensure the leading role of the working class
in the national front, in the struggle com-
pletely to eradicate the roots of imperialism
and the remnants of feudalism, and to clear
the way for the ultimate advance towards
socialism.

Today, when imperialist reaction is striving
to foist the policy of anti-communism on the
young independent states, it is most important
to give a truthful explanation of the Commu-
nist views and ideals. Communists support
the general democratic measures of the na-
tional governments. At the same time, they
explain to the masses that these measures are
far from being socialist.

The aspirations of the peoples now smash-
ing the fetters of colonialism are particularly
appreciated and understood best of all by the
working people of the socialist countries, by
the Communists of the whole world. Our world
outlook, the interests of all working people for
which we are fighting, impel us to do our
best to ensure that the peoples take the right
road to progress, to the efflorescence of their
material and spiritual forces. We, by means
of our policy, must strengthen the confidence
of the peoples in the socialist countries.

The aid extended by the USSR and the

other socialist states to the countries which

have won independence has but one aim—to
help strengthen the position of these countries
in the struggle against imperialism, to further
the development of their national economy
and improve the life of their people. Noting
that the working class of the advanced coun-
tries is vitally interested in “ensuring the in-
dependence” of the colonial countries ‘in the
shortest possible period,” Engels wrote: “One
thing is indisputable: the victorious proletariat
cannot impose happiness on another nation
without undermining thereby its own victory.”
(K. Marx and F. Engels, Works, Russ. Ed.,
Vol. 27, pp. 238, 239.)

The international duty of the victorious
working class consists in helping the peoples
of the economically underdeveloped countries
to smash the last links in the chains of colo-
nial slavery, in rendering them all-round aid
in their struggle against imperialism, for the
right to self-determination and independent
development. However, it does not follow
that socialist aid exerts no influence on the
prospects of the further development of newly-
independent countries.

The Soviet Union has been and is the sin-
cere friend of the colonial peoples; it has al-
ways championed their rights, interests and
strivings for independence. We shall continue
to strengthen and develop our economic and
cultural co-operation with countries which
have become independent.

The Soviet Union submitted to the Fifteenth
Session of the U.N. General Assembly the
Declaration for granting independence to co-
lonial countries and peoples.

As a result of the bitter political struggle
which raged around this proposal both within
and without the U.N., the General Assembly
adopted the Declaration. The basic point in
the Soviet Declaration — the need for abolish-
ing colonialism in all its forms and manifes-
tations rapidly and for good — was in the
main reflected in the resolution adopted by the
United Nations. This was a victory for the
progressive forces and all the socialist coun-
tries, which are defending the cause of free-
dom and independent national development of
peoples firmly and consistently.

It should be stressed that when the matter
was debated in the General Assembly the col-
Onialists were isolated by the socialist and
neutral countries — countries which are also
working for the abolition of the colonial sys-
tem. Even some of the member-countries of
the aggressive blocs, Norway and Denmark
for instance, voted for the abolition of colon-
nialism. The colonialists comprised a group of

22 WORLD MARXIST REVIEW

only nine countries which abstained during
the voting. This was highly indicative. It
showed the world which countries stand for
abolishing the colonial system, and the atti-
tude of the so-called “free countries.” Is it not
revealing that the countries which abstained
included the United States, Britain, France,
Spain, Portugal and Belgium.

Though doomed, colonialism still has con-
siderable power of resistance and causes un-
told harm to many peoples. All that is mori-
bund and reactionary rallies around it. Colon-
ialism is the direct or indirect cause of many
conflicts which threaten humanity with an-
other war. Colonialism, which has caused
bloodshed on so many occasions, is to this
day a source of the war danger. It manifests
itself repeatedly in outbursts of maniacal
fury, as eloquently illustrated by the blood-
shed in Algeria, in the Congo and in Laos; it
still holds tens of millions of people in chains.
Not all the peoples which have won national
independence enjoy its fruits, because their
economies are still dominated by foreign
monopolies.

The peoples of the socialist countries, the
Communists and progressives all over the
world see it as their duty to abolish the last
remnants of the colonial system of imperial-
ism, to support the peoples now liberating
themselves from the colonial powers and to
help them to realize their ideals of liberation.

5. Some Ideological Questions of the
Communist Movement

In summing up the historic victories of the
Communist movement we address our first
word of gratitude to our great teachers Marx,
Engels and Lenin. For their teaching has made
the international Communist movement all-
powerful and secured it its victories. As we
work out our strategy and tactics for the fut-
ure, we again consult with Marx, Engels and
Lenin. The guarantee of all our future vic-
tories is our loyalty to Marxism-Leninism.

The path of the Communist movement is a
difficult and thorny path. No other party has
suffered so many trials and losses as the Com-
munists. Hosts of reactionaries have had a go
at destroying communism. But communism
has emerged from these trials still stronger
and has become the mighty force of our times.

You have all seen at one time or another
a sturdy tree with roots going down deep
into the soil. Such a tree fears neither storms
nor hurricanes. Though the slender tree may
bend under the gale, the sturdy one weathers
the storm, the foliage of its crown becomes

denser and even more luxuriant, reaching out-
ward and upward towards the sun. The same
can be said of the Communist movement.
Though imperialist reaction unleashes storm
after storm against it, the Communist move-
ment remains unshaken, keeps on growing
and becomes more tempered.

Forty-one years ago when the First Con-
gress of the Comintern took place here in
Moscow, Communist parties and Left social-
ist organizations from 30 countries were rep-
resented at it. Not counting the Communist
parties of the Republics which today form the
USSR, there were only five Communist par-
ties in Europe at that time. There were no
Communist parties in Asia, Africa, Australia
and Oceania. On the American continent there
was only the Communist Party of Argentina.
Today Communist and Workers’ parties exist
in 87 countries. They unite more than 36 mil-
lion people. The ideas of communism have
won the minds of millions in all corners of
the globe. That is a good thing, a very good
thing, Comrades!

We are witnessing the birth of many new
Communist parties. Twelve such parties have
appeared and established international con-
tact since the Moscow Meeting of 1957. If
Marx, Engels and Lenin could have been pres-
ent at the November Meeting of the repre-
sentatives of the Communist and Workers’
parties, how happy they would have been to
see this mighty army of Communists of the
whole world!

The growing ranks of the Communist par-
ties reflect the deep urge of the masses for
communism. That is one of the most remark-
able phenomena of our times.

The communist system, for which the Marx-
ist-Leninists are fighting, has been prepared
by the entire process of social development;
the transition to it is on the order of the day.
Marxist-Leninists cannot but concern them-
selves with indicating the ways of the transi-
tion to the new society. Here many complex
questions arise. The fraternal parties have
highly appreciated the contribution made by
the 20th Congress of the CPSU in elaborating
the urgent problems of our day. Both the 1957
Meeting of representatives of Communist and
Workers’ parties, and the November 1960
forum of the world Communist movement de-
voted considerable attention to these problems
and further developed the theory and practice
of the Communist movement.

For us Soviet Communists, sons of the Oc-
tober Revolution, recognition of the necessity
of the revolutionary transformation of capi-

WORLD MARXIST REVIEW 23

talist society into socialist society is axioma-
tic. The road to socialism lies through the pro-
letarian revolution and the dictatorship of the
proletariat. As regards the forms of the tran-
sition to socialism, these, as pointed out by
the 20th Congress of the CPSU, will become
more and more varied. This does not neces-
sarily mean that the transition to socialism
will everywhere and in all cases be associated
with armed uprising and civil war. Marxism-
Leninism starts from the premise that the
forms of the transition to socialism may be
peaceful arf] non-peaceful. It is in the inter-
ests of the working class, of the masses, that
the revolution be carried out in a peaceful
way. But in the event of the ruling classes
resisting the revolution with violence and re-
fusing to submit to the will of the people, the
proletariat will be obliged to crush their re-
sistance and launch a resolute civil war.

We are convinced that with the growth of
the might of the socialist world system and
the better organization of the working class
in the capitalist countries, increasingly
favorable conditions for socialist revolutions
will arise. The transition to socialism in coun-
tries with developed parliamentary traditions
may be effected by utilizing Parliament and
in other countries by utilizing institutions con-
forming to their national traditions. In this
case it is a question of using the parliament-
ary form and not the bourgeois Parliament as
such in order to place it at the service of the
people, and to fill it with new meaning. Thus,
it will not be a matter of electoral combina-
tions or simply skirmishes round the polls.
The reformists indulge in this sort of thing.
Such combinations are alien to us Commu-
nists. For us the rallying and consolidation of
the revolutionary forces of the working class
and of all working people, and the launching
of mass revolutionary action are an absolute
condition for winning a stable majority in
Parliament. To win a majority in Parliament
and transform it into an organ of the people’s
power, given a powerful revolutionary move-
ment in the countiy, means smashing the mili-
tary-bureaucratic machine of the bourgeoisie
and setting up a new, proletarian people’s
state in parliamentary form.

It is quite obvious that in those countries
where capitalism is still strong and still com-
mands a huge military and police apparatus,
the transition to socialism will inevitably
take place in conditions of sharp class strug-
gle. The political leadership of the working
class, headed by the Communist vanguard, is

the decisive condition no matter what the
forms of transition to socialism are.

These conclusions of the 20th Congress of
the CPSU are based on the theory of Marx-
ism-Leninism, on the practice of the fraternal
Communist parties, on the experience of the
international Communist movement, and right-
ly take into account the changed interna-
tional conditions. They orientate the Commu-
nist parties towards uniting the working
class, the majority of the people, and master-
ing all the forms of siruggle — the peaceful
and non-peaceful, the parliamentary and ex-
tra-parliamentary. Lenin taught the Commu-
nists to be ready to use the various forms of
struggle, depending on the situation, and to
educate the masses of the working people in
the spirit of preparedness for decisive revo-
lutionary action.

Of course, it is for the proletariat itself in
each country, and for its Communist vanguard,
to decide on the forms and methods of strug-
gle to be employed by the working class of
the respective country in the concrete histor-
ical situation.

In this connection it should be stressed
that in the present conditions the following
thesis, formulated in the Statement of the
Meeting of representatives of the Communist
and Workers’ parties, acquires particular im-
portance:

“The Communist parties, guided by ihe
Marxist-Leninist teaching, have always rejec-
ted export of revolution. At the same time
they are definitely against the imperialist ex-
port of counter-revolution. They hold that it
is their international duty to call on the peo-
ple of all countries to unite, to rally all their
forces, to act vigorously and, backed by the
might of the world socialist system, prevent
or firmly repulse any interference by the im-
perialists in the affairs of the people of any
country who have risen in revolt.”

To lead the masses to the socialist revolu-
tion is a highly complicated matter. We know
from the experience of our own Party that
when the Bolsheviks were fighting for power
they focused attention on work among the
masses, on forming and cenenting the al-
liance of the working class and the working
peasantry, on preparing the political army of
the socialist revolution. Leninists worked

wherever the masses were — among indus-
trial workers and peasants, among women and
youth and in the army. Each party knows best
what slogan is most suited at the given mo
ment to the task of winning the masses, of

24 WORLD MARXIST REVIEW

leading them, of reinforcing the political army
of the socialist revolution.

The- importance of working among the
youth was stressed at the Meeting. Bourgeois
propaganda is spreading lies about the youth
of today, calling them the “lost generation,”
and depicting them as being apolitical. But
the latest revolutionary manifestations in a
number of countries show that the young
people can be a powerful revolutionary force.
No political party can so attract the youth as
the Communists — the most revolutionary of
all parties, and the youth delight in revolu-
tionary action.

The working class is the leading revolution-
ary force of our times. The working class in
the developed capitalist countries forms a
large proportion of the world army of labor.
It numbers 160,000,000 factory and office
workers, which is about three-fifths of the
total in the non-socialist world. The working
class in the developed capitalist countries is a
great revolutionary force not only because of
its numbers, but above all because it is or-
ganized. It has its mass trade unions and its
mass parties. We are well aware that the
Communists in Western Europe and in the
United States come up against big and speci-
fic difficulties. They have to deal with an ex-
perienced bourgeoisie that has vast material
resources and a powerful military, police and
ideological machine. But we have every con-
fidence in the working class of the West-
European countries, the successor to the re-
volutionary traditions of the Communards of
Paris and the English Chartists, the leader
and organizer of the anti-fascist resistance
movement. The working class, which has ex-
perienced and mass Communist parties in
many countries, with steeled Marxist-Leninist
cadres, will make its contribution to the re-
volutionary transformation of society.

Comrades, the greater the successes of the
socialist system, the greater becomes the in-
ternational army of Communists, and the
more the bourgeoisie rages. In its rage it re-
sorts to fascist methods of government and
to other forms of tyrannical rule. It musters
all its means of propaganda in an attempt to
whitewash the capitalist system, to besmirch
socialism and our communist ideas. Bourgeois
propaganda is becoming more insidious and
subtle. It is using anti-communism as its prin-
cipal weapon in the struggle against the so-
cialist camp and the Communist parties. We
must vigorously expose this anti-scientific
ideology, which is false from beginning to end.

The socialist cause cannot be successfully
advanced without waging relentless struggle
against opportunism in the working-class and
Communist movement, against revisionism,
dogmatism and sectarianism.

It will be recalled that three years ago the
Communist movement was furiously assailed
by the revisionists. This was a matter of life
and death for the revolutionary working-class
parties in some countries. In the Communist
Party of the United States the Gates group
was active and in the Communist Party of
Denmark the Larsen group conducted its dis-
ruptive work. The revisionists were a grave
menace also to some other fraternal parties.
We can now say with deep satisfaction that
the revisionists have been exposed and ex-
pelled from the ranks of the parties. The Com-
munist parties have emerged from the strug-
gle against the revisionists stronger and more
steeled and experienced. The Communist par-
ties have unanimously condemned the Yugo-
slav variety of contemporary revisionism.

The struggle against revisionism, against
any deviation from Leninism, is as important
as ever. It is a struggle aimed at strengthen-
ing the socialist camp, at consistently apply-
ing the principles of Marxism-Leninism.

Lenin pointed out with his innate foresight
that the struggle against the evil of nation-
alism, against the most deeprooted national-
istic petty-bourgeois prejudices ‘comes in-
creasingly to the fore as the task of turning
the dictatorship of the proletariat from a na-
tional (i.e., existing in one country and incap-
able of shaping world politics) into an inter-
national dictatorship (i.e., a dictatorship of
the proletariat embracing at least a few ad-
vanced countries and capable of exerting a de-
cisive influence on world politics) becomes
more actual.’”’ (Collected Works, Russ. Ed.,
Vol. 31, p. 126.)

The struggle against revisionism in all its
varieties continues to be an important task
of the Communist parties. As long as the
bourgeois system exists there will be soil
for the revisionist ideology. That is why we
must always keep our powder dry and con-
duct an uncompromising struggle against re-
visionism which is trying to emasculate Marx-
ism-Leninism of its revolutionary substance,
to embellish capitalism, undermine the unity
of the Communist movement and confine the
Communist parties to their own _ national
quarters.

The Communist movement faces yet an-
other danger — dogmatism and sectarianism.
At present, when all forces must be united

WORLD MARXIST REVIEW 25

to fight imperialism, prevent war and end the
omnipotence of the monopolies, dogmatism
and sectarianism can do great harm to our
cause. Leninism is uncompromising towards
dogmatism. Lenin wrote: “... It is necessary
to grasp the indisputable truth that the Marx-
ist should study life as it is, the precise facts
of reality, and should not cling to the theory
of yesterday which, like any theory, at best
can but indicate the basic, the general fac-
tors, and can but draw close to an understand-
ing of the complexities of life.” (Collected
Works, Russ. Ed., Vol. 24, p. 26.)

Dogmatism nourishes a sectarian bigotry,
which hampers the unity of the working class
and of all progressive forces with the Com-
munist parties. Dogmatism and sectarianism
are irreconcilably at variance with the cre-
ative development of revolutionary theory
and its creative application, they lead to the
isolation of Communists from the masses of
the working people, doom them to passive
anticipation or to reckless ultra-leftism in the
revolutionary struggle, prevent them from
utilizing all the opportunities in the interests
of the victory of the working class and of all
the democratic forces.

The Statement stresses that the Commu-
nist parties will continue to wage a resolute
struggle on two fronts — against revisionism,
which is still the main danger, and against
dogmatism and sectarianism. Dogmatism and
sectarianism may also become the main dan-
ger at one or another stage in the develop-
ment of the various parties unless a consist-
ent struggle is waged against them.

The international duty of all the Commu-
nist and Workers’ parties is to hold aloft the
banner of creative Marxism-Leninism as the
decisive condition of all our future victories.

6. For the Further Consolidation of the
Communist Movement on the Principles
of Marxism-Leninism

Comrades, the battle between the Commu-
nists and all popular forces on the one hand,
and the forces of imperialism, on the other,
is entering upon a new stage. In these cir-
cumstances, the unity of the socialist camp,
of the entire international Communist move-
ment, acquires paramount importance. Our

solidarity on the principles of Marxism-Len-
inism, of proletarian internationalism, is the
main condition for the victory of the working
class over imperialism. The behest of the great
Lenin to advance shoulder to shoulder, is
sacred to us. The unity of our ranks multi-
plies our forces tenfold. Unity, unity and again

unity — this is the law of the world Commu-
nist movement.

The very essence of Leninism implies that
no Marxism-Leninist party can permit either
in its own ranks, or in the international Com-
munist movement, any actions likely to under-
mine its unity and solidarity.

The common goal of struggle of all Com-
munists demands, as in the past, unity of will
and action of the Communist parties of all
countries. The Meeting made a big contribu-
tion to the further consolidation of the inter-
national Communist movement by declaring,
fully in keeping with Lenin’s teachings, that
the Communist parties will do all in their
power to strengthen the unity of their ranks
and of the entire international Communist
movement.

“The interests of the struggle for the work-
ing-class cause,” the Statement says, ‘“de-
mand from each Communist Party and from
the great army of Communists of all countries
the further consolidation of their ranks and
ever closer unity of will and action. The sup-
reme international duty of every Marxist-
Leninist Party is to work steadfastly for great-
er unity of the international Communist
movement.

“Resolute defense of the unity of the inter-
national Communist movement on the prin-
ciples of Marxism-Leninism and proletarian
internationalism, and the impermissibility of
any action likely to undermine this unity are
a necessary condition for victory in the
struggle for national independence, democra-
cy and peace, for accomplishing the tasks of
the socialist revolution and of the building
of socialism and communism. Violation of
these principles would weaken the forces of
communism.”

It should be noted that at the Meeting the
delegation of the CPSU expressed its point
of view concerning the formulation that the
Soviet Union stands at the head of the social-
ist camp and the CPSU at the head of the
Communist movement. The delegation declar-
ed that this formulation was regarded above
all as high appreciation of the services ren-
dered by our Party, founded by Lenin, and ex-
pressed its heartfelt gratitude to all the fra-
ternal parties for it. Our Party, reared by
Lenin, has always seen its first duty in ful-
filling its international obligations towards
the working class of the world. The delegation
assured the Meeting that the CPSU would
continue to hold high the banner of proletar-

26 WORLD MARXIST REVIEW

ian internationalism and would spare no effort
in carrying out its international duties.

Nevertheless, the CPSU delegation proposed
that the formulation be not included in the
Statement or other documents of the Commu-
nist movement.

As to the principles of relations between
the fraternal parties, the CPSU very definitely
expressed its views On this matter at its 21st
Congress. From the rostrum of the Congress,
we declared to the whole world that in the
Communist movement, as in the socialist
camp, there has always been complete equal-
ity and solidarity of all the Communist and
Workers’ parties and socialist countries. The
Communist Party of the Soviet Union does not
lead other parties. There are no “superior”
or “subordinate” parties in the Communist
movement. All the Communist parties are
equal and independent, all are responsible for
the destiny of the Communist movement, for
its setbacks and victories. Every Communist
and Workers’ Party is responsible to the
working class, to the working people of its
country, to the entire international working-
class and Communist movement.

The role of the Soviet Union does not lie in
it leading the other socialist countries, but in
it being the first to blaze the trail to social-
ism, in it being the most powerful country
in the socialist world system, in it having
accumulated vast positive experience in build-
ing socialism, and being the first to embark
cn the full-scale building of communism. It is
stressed in the Statement that the Commu-
nist Party of the Soviet Union has been and
remains the universally recognized vanguard
of the world Communist movement, being its
most experienced and steeled contingent.

At the present time, when there is a large
group of socialist countries each facing its own
specific tasks, when there are 87 Communist
and Workers’ parties each with its own tasks,
it is impossible to lead all the socialist coun-
tries and Communist parties from any single
centre. It is both impossible and unnecessary.
Temnered Marxist-Leninist cadres capable of
leading their narties, their countries, have
grown up in the Communist parties.

And, indeed, it is well known that the CPSU
does not issue directives to other narties. The
fact that we are called “the head,” spells
no advantages for our Party or the other par-
ties. Just the reverse. It only creates diffi-
culties.

As is seen from the Statement, the frater-
nal parties agreed with the reasons stated by

our delegation. The question may arise: will
not our international solidarity be weakened
by the fact that this proposition is not writ-
ten down in the Statement? No, it will not.
At present there are no rules regulating rela-
tions between parties, but we have a common
Marxist-Leninist ideology, and loyalty to this
ideology is the main condition of our solidar-
ity and unity. It is essential that we guide
ourselves consistently by the directions of
Marx, Engels and Lenin, that we persistently
put into practice the principles of Marxism-
Leninism. The international solidarity of the
Communist movement will then constantly
increase.

Our Party as an international party closely
follows the struggle of its class brothers in all
countries of the world. We are well aware of
the difficulties which the Communists have
to overcome in their struggles under capi-
talism.

From the rostrum of the Meeting the dele-
gation of the CPSU expressed our Party’s
boundless solidarity with the fighters for com-
munism in the capitalist countries, and espe-
cially with our comrades languishing in the
prisons of Spain and Portugal, Greece and
West Germany, the UAR, Iraq and Iran, the
USA and Paraguay, and with all the other
prisoners of Capital. We are confident that
our words of greeting will encourage the self-
less fighters for the people’s happiness.

Comrades, representatives of the Commu-
nists of all countries assembled at their Meet-
ing at an auspicious time when the interna-
tional Communist movement is in a steep as-
cent. Striking successes have been attained by
the Communist parties in the capitalist coun-
tries. More and more victories are scored by
communism in the countries where the work-
ing class has triumnhed. Not only have these
countries withstood the onslaught of foreign
and domestic class enemies, but, acting upon
the Marxist-Leninist principles of socialist
construction, they have scaled great heights
in their economic, cultural, scientific and tech-
nial development, and in improving the living
standard of the people. The peoples in these
countries show monolithic solidarity with the
Communist and Workers’ parties.

Whereas in the past the slogan of struggle
for socialism, for communist changes, was a
slogan of the Communist parties, today the
struggle for socialism, for communism, has in
these countries become a nationwide cause,
a nationwide struggle for the triumph of the
new, communist world. In this way, life itself

WORLD MARXIST REVIEW 27

confirms the correctness of our revolutionary
theory, the correctness and vitality of Marx-
ism-Leninism.

It is a great reward for us Communists that
the potent force of communism is now real-
ized not only by the peoples of the socialist
countries, but even by people who do not ac-
cept the Marxist-Leninist doctrine. They can-
not help acknowledging the great results of
the development of our countries, achieved on
the basis of the Marxist-Leninist theory. And
that, comrades, is immensely important.

Marxist-Leninist theory is the guide to
action, the guiding star for us Communists.
Being the front-rank contingent of the work-
ing class, the Communists have always re-
garded it as the scientific program of their
struggle for victory, have always put implicit
trust in it, and have always fought persever-
ingly for its realization. Today, when, on the
basis of this doctrine, the socialist countries
are attaining major successes in the economic
competition with the capitalist states, the
broad masses see that socialism, communism,
is the greatest force of our time, and that the
future belongs to communism.

It stands to reason that in the process of
socialist and communist construction new
forms and methods emerge, which yield good
results in the achievement of the great social-
ist aims. Inasmuch as in the socialist coun-
tries conditions differ from country to coun-
try, it is only natural that each Communist
Party applies Marxist-Leninist theory in keep-
ing with the conditions obtaining in its coun-
try. For this reason, we must show under-
standing for this urge of the fraternal parties,
which should know the conditions and feat-
ures of their countries best.

We act upon the behest of the great Lenin

_that “all nations will come to socialism: that

is certain, but all of them will come to it not
in entirely identical ways and each will con-
tribute something of its own to this or that
form of democracy, this or that variety of the
dictatorship of the proletariat, this or that
rate of socialist change in the various asnects
of social development.” (Collected Works,
Russ. Ed., Vol. 23, p. 58.)

Naturally, one must not inflate the impor-
tance of these distinctive features, exagger-
ate them and overlook the basic general line
of socialist construction chartered in the doc-
trine of Marx and Lenin. We have always
firmly championed the purity of the great
teaching of Marx-Leninism and the basic prin-
ciples for its realization, and will continue
to do so.

Representatives of the Communist and
Workers’ parties exchanged opinions on ques-
tions of the current international situation
and discussed the pressing problems of the
Communist and working-class movement, or,
as comrades put it figuratively at the Meet-
ing, we set our watches. Indeed, the socialist
countries and the Communist parties need to
set the time. When someone’s watch is fast
or slow, it is adjusted, so as to show the right
time. The Communist movement, too, needs
setting the time, so that our formidable army
marches in step and advances with confident
stride towards communism. Putting it figur-
atively, Marxism-Leninism, the jointly pre-
pared documents of international Communist
meetings, are our time-piece.

Now that all the Communist and Workers’
parties have adopted unanimous decisions at
the Meeting, each Party will strictly and un-
deviatingly abide by these decisions in every-
thing it does.

Comrades, the importance of the Meeting
lies in the fact that the participants in it now
feel even better, stronger and more confident
and have acquired an even broader view of
the great epic struggle of all the Communist
and Workers’ parties. All this contributes to
the unity of the international Communist
movement. At the international forum each
fraternal party gained added confidence in
the victory of our common cause, which is of
tremendous importance for the consolidation
of the entire international Communist move-
ment.

The unity of every Communist Party, the
unity of all the Communist parties, is what
makes up the integral world Communist move-
ment, which is aimed at achieving our com-
mon goal, victory for communism throughout
the world. The main thing that is required
of all the Communist and Workers’ parties
today, is perseveringly to strengthen to the
utmost the unity and cohesion of their ranks.
The unity of the ranks of the Communist
movement is especially important in present
conditions. This is due to the historic tasks
the Communist movement is called upon to
perform.

On behalf of the Communist Party of the
Soviet Union our delegation assured the par-
ticipants in the Meeting that for our part we
would co our best to strengthen still more
our close fraternal bonds with all the Com-
munist parties. Our Party will do everything
to make the socialist camp and the world
Communist front still stronger.

28 WORLD MARXIST REVIEW

The Communist Party of the Soviet Union
is firmly determined to strengthen unity and
friendship with all the fraternal parties
of the socialist countries, with the Marx-
Leninist parties of all the world. In this con-
nection I want to emphasize our constant
effort to strengthen the bonds of fraternal
friendship with the Communist Party of China,
with the great Chinese people. In its relations
with the Communist Party of China our Party
always proceeds from the premise that the
friendship of our two great peoples, the unity
of our two parties, the biggest parties in the
international Communist movement, are of
exceptional importance in the struggle for the
triumph of our common cause. Our Party has
always exerted and will continue to exert
every effort to strengthen this great friend-
ship. We have one common goal with People’s
China, with the Chinese Communists, as with
the Communists of all countries — safeguard-
ing peace and the building of communism;
common interests — the happiness and well-
being of the working people; and a firm com-
mon basis of principle — Marxism-Leninism.

The Communist Party of the Soviet Union
and the Soviet people will do their utmost to
further increase the unity of our parties and
our peoples, so as not only to disappoint our
enemies but to jolt them even more strongly

with our unity, to attain the realization of our
great goal, the triumph of communism.

Comrades, it is a magnificent time we live
in! Communism has become the invincible
force of our epoch. The further successes of
communism depend to a tremendous extent
on our will, our unity, our foresight and de-
termination. By their struggle, by their work,
the Communists, the working class, will
achieve the great goals of communism
throughout the world.

Men of the future, the Communists of the
coming generations will envy us, they will
keep going back in their thoughts to our
times, times when there is an especially pow-
erful ring to the lines of the Party Anthem:

“Let power be wielded by the masses

Let those who labor hold the reins.”

The Communist Party of the Soviet Unjon
has been, is, and will ever be loyal to the
doctrine of Marxism-Leninism, to proletarian
internationalism and friendship among the
peoples. It will always fight for world peace,
for the victory of communism, as the great
Lenin taught us!

(Comrade Khrushchov’s speech was repeat-
edly interrupted by stormy applause, and his
closing words were followed by a prolonged
ovation.)

WORLD MARXIST REVIEW 29

The Socialist Camp —
Mainspring of World Progress

G. Gheorghiu-Dej

I

YE are living at a turning point in his-
V tory, when the camp of socialism, the
interi.ational communist and workers’ move-
ment, all the forces of freedom and social
progress headed by the working class, the
most consistent revolutionary class, are play-
ing the decisive role in shaping man’s des-
tiny. It is this that imparts to our epoch its
grandeur, that determines its basic content—
the transition from capitalism to socialism.
Today socialism has become the mainspring
of global development.

When we defined the law of uneven devel-
opment of capitalism in the epoch of imperial-
ism, Lenin pointed out that the socialist re-
volution would not triumph simultaneously
in all or even in the majority of countries,
as Marx and Engels had predicted in other
historical conditions, but first in a few coun-
tries or even in one, at the weakest link in
the chain of imperialism. This happened in
old Russia, where all the contradictions of
imperialism were interwoven. The Great
October Socialist Revolution made a profound
breach into the world system of imperialism,
shaking it to its foundations in all spheres—
political, economic, social and ideological. For
the first time in history the peoples were
shown in practice that their aspirations could
be realized and that they now had material
support in their struggle for freedom and
progress. As Lenin wrote, “the era of the
world proletarian, communist revolution has
begun.’’*

Imperialism failed in its efforts to crush
the first workers’ and peasants’ state; it was
unable to prevent socialism from emerging
from the confines of a single country and
becoming a world system. Lenin’s forecast
that the dictatorship of the proletariat would
change from a national dictatorship, i.e., one
existing in a single country and unable to
determine the world political climate, into an
international dictatorship capable of being the
decisive force on the world arena, has come
true.

“V. I. Lenin, The Draft Program of the RCP(B).

In our times the struggle between capital-
ism and socialism has spread to all aspects of
the social, political and economic develop-
ment of society. The policy of contemporary
capitalism is in substance a struggle to win
back for imperialism its lost positions and to
re-establish its world leadership, that is, a
struggle to preserve and intensify every form
of exploitation, to destroy the socialist sys-
tem and thus perpetuate the division of the
world into ruling countries and countries that
are enslaved and exploited. This policy runs
counter to the aspirations and interests of all
peoples, against the march of history, and
precisely for this reason imperialism seeks
to hide its true aims behind deceptive slo-
gans.

Socialism counters this policy with one of
struggle for social progress, to emancipate
all mankind from exploitation and oppression,
to exclude war from the life of society, to
bring about the complete equality of all peo-
ples and nations and their all-round develop-
ment. These noble aims correspond to man’s
vital interests, and hence the proponents of
this policy — the Communist and Workers’
parties — far from concealing it, proclaim
it from the housetops.

But the simple juxtaposition of these two
lines does not exhaust the purport of the
social and political processes of our day. What
is important above all is that socialism, as
the rising system, is triumphing over the de-
caying and disintegrating capitalism, that the
general line of socialism is making a deeper
imprint on man’s development, while the in-
fluence of capitalism is steadily declining.
Socialism, based on the socialist world sys-
tem, is becoming the decisive factor in the
development of society.

All the vital problems associated with the
irreversible transition to socialism were
thoroughly analyzed at the Meeting of Re-
presentatives of the Communist and Workers’
Parties held in Moscow in November 1960.

This grand international forum, the biggest
ever held in the history of the revolutionary
working-class movement, reaffirmed the vita-

30 WORLD MARXIST REVIEW

lity of the ideas of Marxism-Leninism, to
which dogmatic conservatism and stagna-
tion are utterly alien and which by drawing
on the inexhaustible foundations of life, is
constantly being developed and enriched. The
maturity of the fraternal parties, their many-
sided work to elaborate questions of theory
and their rich collective experience are strik-
ingly expressed in the Statement adopted by
the Meeting and which may well be called a
program of truly historic significance.

Basing itself on the principles elaborated
at the Twentieth and Twenty-First Congresses
of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union
and the 1957 Declaration — these signal con-
tributions to the development of Marxism-
Leninism — and taking into account the
latest developments and basic trends, the
meeting scientifically characterized the pre-
sent situation, showing that the main content,
trends and features of world development are
determined by the socialist world system, by
the forces fighting against imperialism and
for socialism. “It is the principal characteristic
of our time that the socialist world system
is becoming the decisive factor in the develop-
ment of society,” we read in the Statement.

This principal characteristic, arising from
the new balance of forces in the world, fav-
orable to socialism, is making itself felt in
all spheres of social development; it is reflect-
ed in the state of affairs on the world arena
as a whole and in each country taken separ-
ately, in the class relations between labor and
capital in the capitalist countries, and in the
development of the national-liberation move-
ment — in a word, it is reflected in the des-
tinies of all countries and peoples.

There is nothing transient or casual in
socialism becoming, in an historically brief
space of time, the determining force on the
world arena; it is the inevitable result of the
past development of society in which the
objective conditions needed for the transition
to socialism have been created.

The socialist world system has now enter-
ed upon a new stage in its developmeni,
throughout this system socialism has won
decisive victories. The Soviet Union is suc-
cessfully building communism; all along the
line the other members of the system are
either laying the foundations of socialism or
they are raising the edifice of advanced so-
cialist society.

At the same time the aggravation of all
the contradictions of capitalism, the growing
instability of the entire capitalist system, and

the deep-going crisis of bourgeois politics
and ideology show that the general crisis of
capitalism has entered upon a new stage.
The feature of this new stage is that it has
set in not in connection with a world war, but
in the circumstances of competition and strug-
gle between the two systems, of a steady
tipping of the international scales in favor
of socialism, in circumstances when the fight
waged by the peace forces to ensure and
maintain peaceful coexistence has prevented
the imperialists from plunging mankind into
a new world war.

The autcome of these two great world
processes is that the influence exerted by
socialism on the development of society is
steadily growing, human progress is acceler-
ated and especially favorable conditions are
created for the onward march of the peoples
to socialism.

II

The great vitality of socialism and its im-
pact on capitalism find most powerful ex-
pression in the results achieved by the social-
ist world system in its competition with capi-
talism.

Socialism has firmly established its pri-
macy in the world for the rate of growth
of industrial production and has taken first
place in the development of science and tech-
nology. The Soviet Union is registering re-
sounding victories in the building of com-
munism all along the line; its seven-year
plan is being fulfilled and considerably ex-
ceeded. Since the establishment of Soviet
power, notwithstanding that nearly two de-
cades of this period were spent in fighting
the wars launched by the imperialists and
in the postwar rehabilitation, the Soviet
Union’s gross industrial output increased
more than 40-fold compared with 1913; out-
put of the means of production rose 93-fold.,
while output of machines was 270 times as
great. In the past fifteen years (1945-1959)
the average annual rate of growth of indus-
trial output in the Soviet Union has been
more than six times as great as in the United
States. This rapid growth which puts the
USSR far ahead of the USA for annual in-
crease of industrial output, is swiftly doing
away with the discrepancy between the gross
production levels in the two countries. The
Soviet Union is advancing with seven-league
strides towards fulfilment of the historic task
set by the Communist Party — to achieve
first place in the world for both overall pro-
duction and production per capita.

WORLD MARXIST REVIEW 31

The Soviet Union has outstripped all other
countries in cultural development and train-
ing of specialists, while its scientific accom-
plishments in cosmic research show that it
leads also in the key branches of science
and modern technology.

These achievements prove the correctness
and wisdom of the general line of the CPSU
and its Leninist Central Committee which is
creatively solving the complex problems of
the building of communism, ensuring a close
link between theory and practice.

The other socialist countries, too, have
made substantial economic progress. They
have, in accordance with their respective
levels of development, launched out on the
building of the new society from different
starting points. Some were exceedingly back-
ward economically before the war. Now, how-
ever, thanks to their advance along the road
of socialism, their gross industrial production
has grown in comparison with prewar as
follows: in Albania, the growth is 22.5 times;
in Czechoslovakia, 3.6; in the Chinese Peo-
ple’s Republic, 13 (compared with 1949); the
Korean People’s Democratic Republic, 5.5;
Bulgaria, 11; the German Democratic Repub-
lic, three; the Mongolian People’s Republic,
5.8 (compared with 1940); Poland, nearly
seven; Rumania, five; Hungary, 3.8, and in the
Democratic Republic of Vietnam, 2.2 times.

In the years from 1951 to 1959 the an-
nual rate of growth for industrial output
has averaged 13.7 per cent in the countries
of the socialist camp, against 4.8 per cent in
the capitalist countries. Many bourgeois eco-
nomists and philosophers no longer debate
whether socialism will succeed in overtaking
the capitalist world economically, today the
talk has veered to when this will happen.

In the socialist system, with its relations of
mutual aid and fraternal co-operation, a pro-
cess of gradual equalization of development
levels is under way. Here the less developed
countries are drawing closer to the level of
the more advanced, while these in turn are
themselves steadily advancing; consequently
they all will enter communism more or less
simultaneously.

In contrast to this trend, which is charac-
teristic of socialism, development in the capi-
talist world becomes more and more un-
even: the imperialist countries, retarding the
progress of the weaker nations, are prevent-
ing them from taking the way of industriali-
zation in order to keep them economically
and politically dependent. The problem of
the underdeveloped countries in Africa, Asia

and Latin America is so acute today not
because of the people there but because im-
perialism has held back their development
and robbed them of their wealth through ra-
pacious exploitation.

The achievement of socialism in the eco-
nomic competition of the two systems is
exploding one of the weighty anti-communist
myths — the “inability” of socialism. to en-
sure a high standard of living. The gradual
introduction in the Soviet Union of the
shortest working day and working week in
the world, the abolition of taxes by stages,
the rising purchasing power of the people
and the allocation of vast sums for social
and cultural measures in that country, to-
gether with the achievements of the other
socialist countries in ensuring material well-
being and satisfying the spiritual requirements
of the people, give tangible proof of what
socialism and communism can do.

All this is of tremendous significance, for
it helps to bring home to the working people
in the capitalist countries the superiority of
socialism not simply by way of theories but
through the fact of its ability to ensure a
steady and unlimited growth in living stand-
ards. These achievements give a powerful im-
petus to the spread of the ideas of socialism,
enhancing their power of attraction, revolu-
tionizing the thinking of the masses, help-
ing to stimulate their political activity and
inspiring the working people in the capitalist
countries to fight for their vital interests.

At the same time, despite the efforts made
by the rulers of the capitalist world, all the
“panaceas” for the ills of capitalism pres
cribed by “brain trusts” of all kinds, des-
pite the measures taken to “regulate” econo-
mic life, the symptoms of a new depression
are multiplying in the USA and in other capi-
talist countries of the West; undercapacity
working is on the increase, and inflation, bud-
get deficits and growing unemployment are
the order of the day.

The socialist gains in the competition of
the two systems, on the one hand, and the
steady decline of monopoly capitalism, on the
other, knock the bottom out of the apologist
theories about a new capitalism, all the illu-
sions of the opportunists, reformists and re-
visionists about the so-called ‘“regeneration”’
of capitalism, and the emergence within it
of “elements of socialism,” etc.

The development of the socialist world
system parallel with the crisis of capitalist
economy is reflected in the crisis of bourgeois
ideology. Indicative in this respect is the

32 WORLD MARXIST REVIEW

pessimism of some Western politicians. For
instance, the late U.S. Secretary of State John
Foster Dulles complained that his country had
failed to formulate the principles of an out-
look adapted to the times and which would
combine the power of conviction with the
power of attraction, while Walter Lippman
has conceded, and not without grounds, that
the absence of great goals is a grave weakness
of American society. The more farsighted
spokesmen of capitalism compare their own
philosophy of hopelessness and impotence
with the confidence and resolve with which
the Communists voice their certainty of the
victory of socialism, its inevitable triumph
throughout the world.

Even now we can clearly discern the world-
historic significance of the fulfilment of their
long-range plans by the socialist countries,
which are advancing towards the time when
the socialist world system, embracing one-
third of humanity, will be producing more
than half of the world output. This will be
a resounding defeat for capitalism and a de-
cisive victory for socialism in the principal
sphere of human activity — the sphere of
material production.

On this score there is growing anxiety in
the West. For instance, in a collection of
reports published by the joint economic com-
mittee of the U.S. Congress it is admitted that
the rapid economic advance of the socialist
countries exerts a magic influence and acts
as an attractive force in vast areas of the
world. And true enough, now that socialism
is no longer merely an advanced theory, but
is embodied in the socialist world system, we
have the most striking confirmation of Lenin’s
view that the countries in which socialism has
triumphed would influence the development
of world revolution chiefly through their eco-
nomic policy.

Our experience in Rumania is proof of the
opportunities for rapid progress opened to
a nation by the socialist reconstruction of
society, by association with the socialist
world system. It will be recalled that Ruma-
nia’s economic development was retarded for
years by the imperialist powers which re-
garded her as an agrarian adjunct, a mere
source of raw materials and a market for
their manufactures.

After liberation, the people of Rumania set
to work to overcome the economic back-
wardness inherited from the past and made
good progress in building the new society
under the leadership of their Workers’ Party.
The Third Congress of the Party, analyzing

the deep-going social and economic changes
that had taken place in the country, was
able to say that socialism had won in Ru-
mania. Today our country has entered upon
a new stage — that of completing the build-
ing of socialism.

Guided by the teachings of Lenin, our
Party has directed the main efforts of the
nation into such spheres, decisive for the vic-
tory of socialism, as the creation of the ma-
terial and technological base of the new so-
ciety through socialist industrialization,
steady development of heavy industry and
of its backbone, means of production, intro-
duction of the latest techniques in all bran-
ches, automation, raising labor productivity,
growth of the national income — the basis
for raising the living standards.

As a result of the rapid rate of develop-
ment of socialist industry, its annual output
increase during the years 1951-1960 averaged
13 per cent; in the old Rumania of the bour-
geoisie and the landlords the annual industrial
growth during 1929-1938 was about four per
cent. In 1959 the national income mounted
to 242 per cent of the 1950 level, with indus-
try and building accounting for 66.9 per cent
as against 50 per cent in 1950, and agricul-
ture and the timber industry, 19.3 as against
28 per cent. In terms of value, industry ac-
counted for 48,000 million lei as against 15,-
100 million in 1950. These figures give an
idea of the structural changes that have taken
place in our national economy.

By 1965, when the directives of the Third
Congress of the Rumanian Workers’ Party
concerning the six-year plan will have been
carried out, our industrial output should be
about 2.1 times as great as the 1959 figure,
while the long term fifteen-year economic
program (1960-1975) will increase it more
than sixfold.

The Congress decisions constitute a pro-
gram behind which the entire nation has
rallied. In 1960 output of our industry rose
roughly by 16 per cent compared with the
previous year, although the six-year plan
called for only a 14 per cent increase.

Our Party devotes constant attention to
agriculture. At present the socialist sector
embraces over 81 per cent of all the farm
land and more than 83 per cent of the culti-
vated land.

Special mention should be made of the
fact that with the spread of socialism in the
countryside farm production has increased,
all branches of agriculture are forging ahead,

WORLD MARXIST REVIEW 33

and there has been a substantial increase in
the trade between town and country. Today
our agriculture fully meets the growing re-
quirements of the population, providing the
food industry with all the raw materials it
needs, and almost wholly takes care of the
raw material needs of light industry.

In effecting the socialist reconstruction of
the countryside, our Party has had a reliable
guide in Lenin’s counsel about the need strict-
ly to observe the voluntary principle, to en-
sure the correct social and economic rela-
tions with the peasantry, and steadfastly to
strengthen the alliance of the working class
and the peasant masses as the foundation of
the rule of the working people.

Our national economy, balanced and stable,
is steadily developing. Our Party attaches
cardinal importance to material incentives as
a powerful lever making for increased output
and higher labor productivity in all branches
and in fostering a conscientious socialist at-
titude to work. With the expansion of the
economic base of socialism, profound changes
are taking place in the minds of the working
people. The Party, basing itself on the new
economic relations, gives free rein to crea-
tive initiative, conducts intensified political
and educational work among the people with
a view to deepening their socialist conscious-
ness and moulding the ethics of the new
man — the builder of the most progressive
social system.

The economic success and the rising na-
tional income have enabled the Party and the
Government to pursue the policy of steadily
raising living standards; wages have risen and
prices have fallen; substantial sums — nearly
a quarter of the state budget — have been
allocated for housing, public health, educa-
tion, science and culture.

All this is the fruit of the constructive la-
bors of our people, the fruit of our Party's
policy, which is based on the creative appli-
cation of Marxist-Leninist theory to the con-
ditions of our country, and of our association
with the great commonwealth of socialist
countries.

The main and decisive condition for the
successful building of socialism is the ob-
servance and creative application of the prin-
ciples, in essence universal, of socialist con-
struction, of not over-estimating the role of
the national features or ignoring them. In
the process of building the new society, the
Communist and Workers’ parties of the social-
ist countries are steadily enriching Marxism-
Leninism through generalization of their prac-

tical experience. They are applying the basic
principles of Marxism creatively, for Marx-
ism is not a code of immutable formulas, but
a teaching that springs from the requirements
of everyday life, from the new which life
brings to the fore, from the concrete con-
ditions of the given time and the given situa-
tion.

It’is the experience of our country, as of all
the socialist countries, that the most impor-
tant international factors in their achieve-
ments are their co-operation and mutual aid
and, in particular, the all-round fraternal as-
sistance accorded to all the other socialist
countries by the Soviet Union. The Moscow
Meeting emphasized the importance in build-
ing socialism of consolidating fraternal co-
operation and mutual aid, constantly perfect-
ing the international division of labor through
co-ordination of plans as well as specializa-
tion and co-operation in production on the
basis of free will and mutual benefit, in the
interests of each country and the socialist
system as a whole.

In addition to the economic achievements,
the development of consistent socialist demo-
cracy exerts a powerful influence on the
working people in the capitalist countries.

Steady growth of the social and political
activity of the people is characteristic of the
socialist countries, where growing numbers
are taking a direct part in economic manage-
ment and cultural development. In keeping
with the general progress made by each coun-
try, functions that hitherto belonged to the
state are gradually being transferred to pub-
lic organizations and the roie played by the
community in inculcating and enforcing stand-
ards of behavior is growing.

That the socialist system is superior to
bourgeois “democracy” is becoming increas-
ingly evident. No amount of effort by the
bourgeois ideologists to depict it as “true”
democracy can conceal the realities of bour-
geois democracy; they are patent in the anti-
labor laws and in race persecution in the
USA, in the hounding of democrats in the
German Federal Republic, in the transforma-
tion of Spain and other “free world” coun-
tries into prisons for their people, in the
reprisals against fighters for national free-
dom. In the conditions of the new stage of the
general crisis of capitalism, bourgeois demo-
cracy is being discredited more and more and
its bankruptcy is becoming increasingly mani-
fest; under pressure of the ultra-reactionary
groups of monopoly capital, the old forms of
bourgeois parliamentary democracy are being

}
f
‘

34 WORLD MARXIST REVIEW

replaced in a number of countries with re-
gimes based on naked suppression of the
working people and abolition of civil rights.
With the steady economic and social pro-
gress of the socialist countries, the working
people everywhere are coming to see more
and more clearly that socialism alone opens
up to man every opportunity for the full satis-
faction of his requirements, for the full devel-
opment of his personality and talent, for the
realization of the ideals cherished by pro-
gressive thinkers down the centuries.

II

The growth of the socialist world system
into the decisive force of historical develop-
ment is the basic factor making it possible to
solve in a new way, in the interests of the
people, the cardinal problems of our times.

This circumstance is of enormous impor-
tance also for the primary task of the day—
defense of peace.

Social developments show that whereas war
is the product of a social system based on
exploitation and class antagonisms, socialism
and peace are indivisible. Territorial expan-
sion and war are alien to socialism. Its ideal
is peace, all-round development of all coun-
tries, abundance of the good things of life
for the people. Socialism is the realm of la-
bor and freedom, fraternal friendship and co-
operation among the peoples. That is why
the Communists have always fought against
aggressive wars, which bring disaster above
all to the working population.

Lenin pointed out that only the working
class, after it has won power, can really
carry out a policy of peace, not just in words.
“‘We promise the workers and peasants,” he
said, “that we will do everything for peace.
And we shall live up to our promise.”

And this counsel of Lenin guides the for-
eign policy of the socialist countries.

But while pursuing a policy of peace, they
do not ignore the aggressive nature of im-
perialism, which remains unchanged. The
frenzied stockpiling of armaments — es-
pecially nuclear weapons — inspired by the
USA in the NATO countries; the intensive
efforts to rebuild German militarism as the
shock force of imperialism in Europe; the
American plan for making NATO a new “ato-
mic power”; expansion of the network of
American military bases; U.S. interference in
the affairs of the Congo and Laos; the pro-

“V. I. Lenin, Report on Foreign Policy, May 14, 1918.

vocations against Cuba, and the war against
the people of Algeria — these and other facts
are clear proof that the aggressive circles,
and primarily the U.S. imperialists, are con-
tinuing to create and sustain centres of ten-
sion and unrest, preparing another war.

But gone are the days when the imperialists
could decide at will whether to start a war
or not. It is humanity’s good fortune that
our epoch, although it has produced unpre-
cedented means of destruction, has also crea-
ted the force that can prevent their use. This
force is the socialist camp with its steadily
growing economic power, excellent defense
capacity and high political and moral pres-
tige, the other peace-loving states, the inter-
national working class, the national-liberation
movement, and the world peace movement.
Should the imperialists dare to unleash a war,
the combined forces of the peoples would wipe
capitalism off the face of the earth.

But the world knows how disastrous a
nuclear and missile war would be for all man-
kind. It would wipe out the main economic
and cultural centres and treasure houses of
civilization; entire countries and _ nations
would be annihilated and the toll of life
would run into hundreds of millions. What
the socialist countries need is not war, but
peace, in order to go ahead with their rapid
economic development and ensure a high
standard of living.

The facts prove the efficacy of the persist-
ent struggle waged by the Communist and
Workers’ parties and the countries of the
socialist camp to prevent war. Although the
imperialist adventurers began to prepare ag-
gression against the socialist countries before
the echoes of the Second World War had died
away, they have not been able to unleash it.
Time and again in recent years the forces of
socialism and peace have stopped the im-
perialists from starting local wars or com-
pelled them to cease hostilities where such
conflicts did break out, thereby preventing
them from developing into a world conflagra-
tion. Here we can clearly see the difference
between the present situation and that on
the eve of the Second World War when it
was impossible to prevent the seizure of Man-
churia, the invasion of Ethiopia, the defeat
of Republican Spain, the occupation of Aus-
tria, or the rape of Czechoslovakia — all acts
of imperialist aggression, the prelude to the
world war.

The further strengthening of the socialist
world system and the further growth of the

WORLD MARXIST REVIEW 35

superiority of the forces of socialism and
peace and the prospect of the absolute domi-
nation of socialism on the world arena, hold
out the promise that it will be possible to
exclude world war from the life of society
even before the final victory of socialism
on a global scale.

The idea of preventing war spurs the peo-
ples to action, gives them new confidence,
rallies them in the struggle and multiplies
their forces. Nothing could be more perni
cious to the cause of peace than a fatalistic
and passive submission in the face of the
war danger. Hence, while showing that in our
time war can be prevented, the socialist coun-
tries and the Communist and Workers’ parties
never fail to stress that in order to do this
the broad masses should be mobilized with-
out delay, all the peace forces should be ac-
tive, exerting every effort and displaying
maximum viligance, in building up a broad
front for peace. The countries of the socialist
camp are conducting, as Lenin taught us, a
highly principled and at the same time flex-
ible foreign policy aimed at uniting all the
forces to prevent world war.

In the sphere of world politics, the Soviet
Union and the other countries of the social-
ist camp invariably hold the initiative. Even
bourgeois politicians have conceded this. By
their actions and proposals on the basic in-
ternational issues, the socialist countries have
laid diplomatic siege to the aggressive im-
perialist elements. In this connection men-
tion should be made of the proposals to ter-
minate nuclear weapons tests, for general
and complete disarmament, for the abolition
of colonialism in all its forms and manifesta-
tions, for an atom-free zone in the Pacific
area, in Central Europe and in the Balkans,
for signing a peace treaty with Germany and
settling the Berlin question, and for the peace-
ful unification of Korea and Vietnam.

At the Fifteenth U.N. General Assembly the
socialist countries were able to concentrate
the debates on the most pressing problems of
international life, drawing the attention of
the nations to these issues and winning a
major political and moral victory for the for-
ces of socialism and peace.

The steadfast general line followed by the
socialist countries in their foreign policy is
peaceful coexistence as the only alternative
to war. There is no “third” way, and to search
for such would be tantamount to balancing on
the brink of a precipice; it would mean con-
tinued tension fraught with the danger of

the cold war turning at any moment into a
global shooting war.

It goes without saying that the policy of
peaceful coexistence and economic compe-
tition of the two systems does not imply
“harmony” of interests between the prole-
tariat and the bourgeoisie; on the contrary, it
is a form of the class struggle between social-
ism and capitalism. It enhances the interna-
tional prestige of the socialist countries,
strengthens the positions of socialism, en-
hances the prestige of the Communist par-
ties, creates favorable conditions for the
struggles of the working people as well as
the national-liberation movements, and cor-
responds to the vital interests of all peoples.

Together with the other socialist countries,
the Rumanian People’s Republic is doing its
share to implement the principles of peaceful
coexistence. It has advanced proposals on
co-operation in the Balkans and for a rocket-
and atom-free zone in this area; on regional
measures to promote good-neighborly rela-
tions .among the European states, and on
educating the youth in the spirit of peace
and understanding among the nations. The
Rumanian People’s Republic stands for poli-
tical, economic and cultural relations with
all states, irrespective otf their social and -poli-
tical systems, in the interest of internaticnal
cooperation.

In the past the experience was that when-
ever a country or a group of countries gained
superiority of strength over other countries,
the danger of war, of resorting to arms to
resolve controversial issues, increased. But
now when the superiority is on the side of
the socialist states, we see the opposite, the
prospects of lasting peace become brighter
and _ brighter.

It is not mere chance that it is the great
socialist power — the Soviet Union — which
is urging general and complete disarmament.
The underlying ideas of its program, em-
bodied in the slogan “A world without arma-
ments, without armies and without wars,”
having struck deep roots among all peace-
loving people, are now the watchword of. the
masses the world over.

In order to minimize the impact of the
Soviet disarmament proposals, the imperialist
propagandists claim they are nothing but a
“chimera”, a “propaganda trick”. The object
is to undermine faith in the feasibility of dis-
armament and to weaken and disorganize the
fight for it. But no matter how long the way
to disarmament may still be, the socialist

36 WORLD MARXIST REVIEW

countries, together with all other peace-loving
forces, are pursuing this course firmly re-
solved to exert every effort to achieve this
great ideal of socialism, as Lenin called it.
Backed by the might of the socialist camp,
the peoples, by resolute and united action,
will be able to overcome the resistance of the
imperialists, isolate them more and more, and
compel them to agree to general disarma-
ment.

Defense of peace and the implementation
of the principles of peaceful coexistence and
disarmament call for active, unremitting
struggle against the imperialist aggressors.
The economic and political strength of the
socialist camp, the fact that the means of
defense at the disposal of its member-coun-
tries, and primarily the Soviet Union, give
them superiority in the sinews of war, to-
gether with the steady growth of the forces
of peace throughout the world and their
preponderance on the international arena —
all act as a curb on the imperialist aggres-
sors and, for this reason, are the decisive
factor of peace.

IV

The disintegration of colonialism in the post-
war period is the second greatest event after
the rise of the socialist world system. The
transformation of the former colonies from
a reserve of capitalism into an active anti-
imperialist force undermines the pillars of
imperialism and aggravates the general crisis
of the capitalist system.

The imperialists never bestow independence
on a nation they have enslaved; it has to be
won in grim struggle and at the cost of
heavy sacrifice by the colonial peoples.

The world situation today particularly
favors the national-liberation struggle. Where-
as formerly the colonial powers could handle
the national-liberation movements by send-
ing a few warships or battalions of marines,
now these methods are becoming less and less
practicable. For, in addition to the scale ac-
quired by the national-liberation movements
as such, there is now the mighty socialist
camp which renders powerful support to the
peoples fighting for freedom and national in-
dependence. Moreover, the other peace-loving
countries are also giving expression to their
solidarity with them. The example of Cuba,
which has overthrown U.S. monopoly domina-
tion, shows that in our time even a small
country, thanks to the support of the forces
of peace headed by the socialist camp, is

able to resist the imperialists and uphold its
independence.

The adoption by the U.N. General Assembly
on the initiative of the Soviet Government of
the Declaration on the Granting of Indepen-
dence to the Colonial Countries and Peoples
is a big victory for the forces of peace and
progress throughout the world. This victory
will hasten the onset of the historic moment
when the loathsome colonial system will have
been abolished for ever.

The peoples who have broken the chains
of colonial slavery or are still fighting for
their liberation can now see that in their
fight for freedom, political and economic in-
dependence, to abolish poverty and to raise
their standard of living, they have no more
sincere and reliable friends than the socialist
countries. The aid given by these countries
to the new independent states is real and
effective, primarily because its purpose is to
ensure all-round development of the economy,
to build up industry and train national tech-
nical personnel, and to harness the national
resources in the interests of the emerging
nations themselves with a view to their in-
dependent development. The years will pass
and many changes will take place in the life
of these nations, but the enterprises built
with the aid of the Soviet Union and the
other socialist countries, such developments
as the Bhilai Iron and Steel Works and the
Aswan Dam, will always be a glowing symbol
of true help at a time of need.

As the socialist world system develops, the
aid extended by the member-countries will
increase, and this will further accelerate the
progress of the new independent states.

The countries that have won political in-
dependence from imperialism are confronted
with big problems of social and economic de-
velopment. In our times the possibility of a
non-capitalist way of development opens up
before these countries the possibility of avoid-
ing the agonizing ordeals associated with the
capitalist system.

The predominant influence exerted by the
forces of socialism on world development is
reflected in the incomparably greater oppor-
tunities that have opened for the peoples to
shape their lives in a new way, to choose at
will the path of development which corres-
ponds in the fullest measure to their aspira-
tions and interests.

The choice of one or another social system
is a matter for each people to decide for
themselves. Faithful to Lenin’s counsel the
Communists reject any “export of revolution.”

WORLD MARXIST REVIEW 37

No revolution, and least of all the socialist
revolution, which presupposes the most deep-
going reconstruction of all economic and
social relations, can be artificially “exported”
from one country to another. Speaking of the
future influence which socialist countries
would exert, Engels said: Only one thing is
indisputable: the victorious proletariat can-
not impose happiness on another nation with-
out undermining thereby its own victory.”*

A bloodless revolution is most of all in the
interests of the working class and the people
generally, for it corresponds to the national
interest of each country. Speaking of the
possibility of the revolution taking a peaceful
course, Lenin pointed out that though in the
situation that existed at the time, this could
happen only as a rare exception, the prole-
tariat could not but attach the greatest im-
portance to it. In the changed conditions of
our time, as pointed out both in the 1957
Declaration and in the Statement of the
Moscow Meeting of 1960, the working class
in a number of capitalist countries may be
able, on the basis of a united workers’ and
people’s front or other forms of political coali-
tion and co-operation among different parties
and public organizations, to unite the majority
of the people, win political power without
civil war and take over the basic means of
production. The fundamental prerequisite for
this is broad, incessant class struggle waged
by the working masses, with the proleariat
in the vanguard, against monopoly capital, for
deep-going social reforms, for peace and so-
cialism.

Still it should be borne in mind that the
transition to socialism might have to be ef-
fected in a non-peaceful way; wherever this
happens, the intensity of the class struggle
and its forms will depend not so much on
the proletariat as on the violence of the
resistance offered by reaction to the will of
the overwhelming majority of the people.
Whether a revolution is bloodless or not will
depend on the concrete historical conditions
in the given country.

The fight of the peoples for the right to
shape their own lives derives strength from
the existence and solidarity of the socialist
camp. The Communist and Workers’ parties,
resolutely against any export of counter-revo-
lution by the imperialists, consider it their
international duty to rally the peoples and,
supported by the socialist world system, to

“Letter to Kautsky, September 12, 1882.

prevent any interference by the imperialists
in the internal affairs of the peoples that have
taken their future in their own hands, or to
repel such intervention where it has taken
place.

V

The socialist world system is the motive
force of contemporary history, the decisive
factor “etermining the content and direction
of social progress. Each new achievement of
socialism accelerates social progress through-
out the world. It used to be said that history
was working for socialism, now we can add
that socialism is working for history.

The greatest influence on world develop-
ment is exerted by the Soviet Union, which
has blazed the trail for the peoples to a radical
reconstruction of society in the interests of
the masses, and which is charting the way
to communism — the first country to build
socialism and the first to begin building com-
munist society. An inspiring example for the
forces of socialism everywhere is set by the
Communist Party of the Soviet Union, which
for nearly sixty years now has held aloft
the banner of Marxism-Leninism. The CPSU
is the most experienced and steeled detach-
ment of the international communist move-
ment, its recognized vanguard enjoying tre-
mendous prestige among the working people
of the world.

The socialist countries form a single, close-
knit family. The strength of this camp lies
in its unshakable unity. In contrast to the
capitalist world, with its antagonistic con-
tradictions which divide classes, nations and
states, the nature of socialism is such that
it knows no objective reasons for contradic-
tions and conflicts between the socialist peo-
ples and states. There is no antagonism be-
tween them, nor can there be. On the con-
trary, the more headway they make in build-
ing the new society, the greater is their soli-
darity and the stronger the moral and poli-
tical unity of the entire system.

The fact that the socialist countries are
linked by bonds of fraternal cooperation, that
they co-ordinate their activities and work for
one and the same goal, multiplies the strength
of each country taken separately and the
socialist camp as a whole. And they see their
prime international duty in further consoli-
dating the unity of the socialist camp.

The Moscow Meeting was an historic oc-
casion, for it testified to the further strength-
ening of the unity of the socialist camp and
the Communist and Workers’ parties, and

38 WORLD MARXIST REVIEW

equipped them with a program providing a
reliable guide in the struggle to consolidate
and build the socialist world system and the
international communist movement. The Ru-
manian Workers’ Party, deeply convinced of
the correctness of the ideas set forth in the
Statement, will, together with the other Com-
munist and Workers’ parties, do its share in

carrying out these ideas, in reinforcing the
international communist and workers’ move-
ment and advancing the cause of socialism
and peace.

Under the banner of Marxism-Leninism car-
ried by the heroic Communist and Workers’
parties, socialism will triumph all over the
world.

The General Crisis of
Capitalism Deepens

James E. Jackson

GENUINELY revolutionary policy must

of ‘necessity be elaborated on the basis
of a correct Marxist-Leninist analysis of the
times. For only if the conditions in which the
working-class movement develops are precise-
ly assessed is it possible to define the most
effective ways of achieving the ultimate aims
of the Communists. Let us recall what Lenin
said: “Only an objective consideration of the
sum-total of reciprocal relations of all the
classes of a given society without exception,
and, consequently, a consideration of the ob-
jective stage of development of that society
and of the reciprocal relations between it and
other societies, can serve as a basis for cor-
rect tactics of the advanced class.”* Conse-
quently, a scientific characterization of our
times presupposes an analysis of both the
new developments in capitalism and the new
correlation of forces between the two diamet-
rically opposed world systems — capitalism
and socialism.

We find this analysis in the Statement of
the November 1960 Meeting of Representa-
tives of the Communist and Workers’ Parties,
which contains conclusions of fundamental
significance for the working-class movement
in elaborating a correct political line. And one
of the most important of these conclusions is
that the general crisis of capitalism has en-
tered upon a new stage.

The Weakening of the Imperialist System
in Conditions of Peace

The general crisis of the capitalism was de-
fined by Lenin as the period of “the disinte-

*V. I. Lenin, Karl Marx.

gration of capitalism on a world scale and
the birth of socialist society.”* Underlying
this crisis is the aggravation of the internal
contradictions of the capitalist system to the
point where it is no longer able to maintain
its domination over individual countries, and
the latter, breaking with capitalism, take to
socialism. And, in turn, the existence of the
socialist system and its growth accelerate the
disintegration of imperialism.

Capitalist society, as we know, has passed
through two stages of its general crisis. The
first stage had its genesis already at a time
when the laws of monopoly capitalism held
unrestricted global sway. The outcome was
that all the antagonistic contradictions of the
capitalist system found their fullest expres-
sion in the world imperialist war of 1914-18.
The war led to a situation in which a breach
was made in the imperialist front at its weak-
est sector. The first socialist country was born.
Capitalism, now no longer a global system,
was confronted by its opposite, socialism,
which began to grow and develop though still
within the frontiers of one country.

But the laws of capitalism still predomi-
nated on the world arena, exerting the deci-
sive influence on international relations. In
particular, the inevitable alternation of war
and peace, characteristic of the imperialist
era, continued. The peace-loving progressive
forces were not able to avert the catastrophe
of the Second World War. Yet the same laws
of capitalism, which engendered the new world
war, had summoned to life also the powerful

*V. I. Lenin. The Seventh Congress of the RCP(B). Re-
port on the Revi Program.

WORLD MARXIST REVIEW 39

forces which, in a number of countries in Eu-
rope and Asia, were to act as the gravediggers
of the system based on exploitation. This
ushered in the second stage of the general
crisis of capitalism, the salient feature of
which was the rise of the socialist world sys-
tem over one-quarter of the globe. Since then
the course of history has been shaped in grow-
ing measure by the competition between the
two systems.

The stage of the general crisis of capital-
ism which we have now entered differs from
the previous in the sense that it is not the
outcome of a world war or of countries or
territories breaking away from capitalism. It
has set in in the conditions of peaceful co-
existence and the competition between the
two diametrically opposed systems, and has
not been accompanied by any changes in the
boundaries of the capitalist system. What,
then, are the distinguishing features of this
stage?

The first and main feature is the develop-
ment of the socialist world system into the
decisive factor of social development. In our
times the sphere of the operation of the laws
of imperialism is steadily shrinking, while the
influence exerted by the laws accompanying
the rise of the socialist world system is grow-
ing. The peculiarities of the processes that
ushered in this new stage of capitalism’s gen-
eral crisis are explained by the new historical
laws gaining the ascendancy as a result of
the rapid economic and political growth of the
socialist system. Because of this the further
aggravation of the crisis took place not in con-
ditions of war, but in conditions of peaceful
competition between the two systems, when
the struggle of the peace-loving forces has
prevented the imperialists from unleashing
another world war. The march of events shows
that peace is an ally of socialism, that it fur-
thers social progress and debilitates the im-
perialist system.

The second feature of the new stage in the
general crisis of capitalism is the consider-
able shrinking of the sphere of imperialist do-
mination. Although capitalism has not suf-
fered any territorial changes to speak of, im-
perialism has, nevertheless, lost ground in
vast areas of the world. This is due to the
sweep of the national-liberation movement of
the colonial and dependent peoples who now
have a powerful ally in the socialist world
system. In the fifteen years since the war
some forty independent, sovereign states have
come into being in Asia and Africa. The vic-
tory of the Cuban revolution has opened up

new perspectives before the Latin American
countries, giving a powerful impetus to the
popular movements. And the final disintegra-
tion of colonialism will further reduce the
sphere of imperialist domination and confront
imperialism with new problems.

The third feature is the continued aggrava-
tion of all the contradictions of the capitalist
system — the contradictions between labor
and capital, between the handful of monopol-
ists and the people, between the developed
and the economically backward countries, and
the contradictions between the imperialist
powers. As a result, the general instability of
the development of capitalism is growing and
its decay becomes more and more pronounced.

Another feature is the steady decline of the
influence exerted by imperialism in world
affairs. The predominant influence exerted
by the socialist system on world events and
the appearance on the international arena of
the young Asian and African states have
caused a crisis of imnerialist foreign policy.
Mention should be made also of such a major
development as the growing crisis of internal
policy in the imperialist countries, the bank-
ruptcy of bourgeois ideology. History is
steadily driving capitalism into a blind alley
and its prospects, both economically and poli-
tically, are dim.

And at. bedrock of the general crisis of cap-
italism are such cardinal processes as the
growing strength of world socialism, the dis-
integration of the colonial system and aggra-
vation of the capitalist contradictions. The
further development of these irrevocable pro-
cesses will, like an onrushing flood, sap the
rotting pillars of imperialism, give rise to great
class battles in the capitalist countries, and
consolidate the international and internal po-
sitions of the forces of progress, democrac
and peace.

Accelerator of History

The transformation of the socialist world
system into the decisive factor of social de-
velopment is a landmark in history. In the
transition from capitalism to socialism the
time is bound to come when the forces of
the new systems will have gained the upper
hand over the forces of the old society, not
only within the frontiers of a single country,
but on the world arena, a time when the
mounting tensions of internal and interna-
tional class struggle, having reached the re-
volutionary “boiling point,” will end in a
qualitative leap. It is this moment in history
that we are now witnessing.

40

The ascent of socialism to the position of
the decisive global factor is a twofold pro-
cess—internal and external.

The essence of the internal processes lies
in the decisive victories won on the scale of
the entire socialist system. One-third of man-
kind has got rid of capitalist exploitation. The
Soviet Union has entered the phase of all-out
building of communism. The other socialist
countries are successfully laying the founda-
tions of socialism or have begun the build-
ing of developed socialist society.

Socialist democracy has been developed
both in substance and in form.

The external background to the growth of
socialism into the decisive force on the inter-
national arena is the further weakening of
capitalism as a world system.

These two processes are not isolated deve-
lopments simply coinciding in time; they are
interactive and, in a sense, one conditions the
other. The very existence of the socialist world
system accelerates the disintegration of the
capitalist system, while the global decline of
the society based on exploitation gives impetus
to the anti-capitalist forces and by so doing
reinforces the positions of the new, ascend-
ing system.

These interwoven but opposite trends find
concentrated expression in the competition of
the two world systems, which, while the main
form, is a higher stage of the class struggle
on the international arena. And in the process
of this struggle socialism has become the de-
cisive factor of social development on a world
scale.

This contest is being fought out mainly in
the economic area, and it is here that the so-
cialist system has given the most striking
proof of its superiority. In recent years the
average annual growth of industrial output in
the socialist countries has exceeded the rate
in the capitalist countries nearly fourfold.
The prospects of the socialist world system
achieving absolute superiority for overall out-
put both in industry and agriculture have be-
come a matter of the foreseeable future. In-
deed, socialism is already hard on the heels of
the leading canitalist countries. The time is
approaching when it will have achieved com-
plete victory over canvitalism in the decisive
sphere of human activity — material produc-
tion.

The effects of the economic comnetition
between the two systems are felt in many of
the processes taking place in the canitalist
system. For instance, by expanding their for-

WORLD MARXIST REVIEW

eign trade and extending economic aid to new-
ly independent countries, the socialist states,
cutting in on the old imperialist patterns of
international division of labor, are restricting
the omnipotence of the monopolies in the cap-
italist world economy.

In the political sphere, the growing strength
of socialism is clearly visible. For one thing
socio-economic possibilities for restoring cap-
italism in the socialist countries no longer
exist. The superiority of the socialist world
system also creates a new background for
working-class struggle in the capitalist coun-
tries. It makes it harder for the imperialist
forces to exert pressure from without in or-
der to influence the outcome of class strug-
gle in one or another capitalist country, im-
pedes and at times even precludes the export
of coynter-revolution. Socialism has demon-
strated that it can paralyze imperialist ag-
gression and, as the examples of Egypt, Syria
and Iraq showed, frustrate their war designs.
Socialism has placed on the order of the day
the exclusion of war from the life of society.
Its principles of peaceful coexistence are find-
ing more and more support from countries
still within the capitalist orbit.

The socialist camp firmly holds the intitia-
tive in the diplomatic sphere. Thanks to its
efforts, the imperialist powers have been forc-
ed to discuss issues of vital concern to all
humanity such as general and complete dis-
armament and the abolition of the colonial
system.

The scientific and technological achieve-
ments of socialism are of the greatest impor-
tance. These, too, are the results of the econ-
omic and political superiority of the new
system. Socialism, now in the forefront of
scientific, technological and cultural develop-
ment, acts as the pathfinder in the new era
of civilization.

The achievements of the socialist countries
in recent years in economy, politics, science,
technoloev. education and art have revolu-
tionalized the minds of people in the capital-
ist world. The progress registered by social-
ism has led to a complete change in the out-
look of big segments of the population, espe-
cially among the intellectuals. This revolution
in the minds of men is a nowerful factor. for
the new ideas are being taken up by millions
of working people. Thus the economic and
political achievements of socialism find their
reflection also in the sphere of ideology. Thus
socialism, which not so very long ago was a
remote and abstract ideal, has grown into a
real and tangible force. It will not be an over-

WORLD MARXIST REVIEW 4l

statement to say that its ideas now dominate
the spiritual life of humanity, for they alone
chart the way to the realization of man’s cher-
ished aspirations.

The economic level reached in the socialist
countries, their scientific and technological
accomplishments, their moral and political
unity and their success in the realm of ide-
ology are ample evidence that the concen-
trated strength of the socialist camp is alrea-
dy greater than that of capitalism. Moreover,
the socialist system is strong not only by vir-
tue of its inner potential; it is reinforced
enormously by the broad support accorded it
by all the progressive movements of the day.
As an international force the socialist sys-
tem acts as a powerful accelerator of history,
the march of which signifies the complete
downfall of the system of exploitation.

The Twilight of Colonialism

One of the more outstanding manifestations
of the growing general crisis of capitalism is
the crumbling of the colonial system under
the impact of the national-liberation move-
ment. Steadily gaining momentum, this move-
ment, growing in scale, is becoming more and
more widespread. Having begun with the po-
litical tasks, it is gradually undertaking the
solution of pressing social and economic
problems.

The rapid disintegration of the colonial sys-
tem and the spreading national-liberation
movement are closely associated with the
achievements and influence of world social-
ism.

Were it not for the influence of socialism
on the world arena, little Cuba could hardly
have withstood the U.S. attacks. But as things
are, the situation in this area is no longer
determined solely by the state of affairs and
the correlation of forces on the American
continent.

Were it not for the changed relationship
between the forces of capitalism and social-
ism, we would hardly be witnessing the suc-
cess achieved by the national-liberation move-
ment, the rise of the independent countries
in Asia and Africa forming the so-called
“neutral bloc,” or the new social and econ-
omic developments in these countries.

True, these new countries, taken in the ag-
gregate, cannot be described as a special kind
of system. But deep-going changes of a pro-
gressive nature are taking place in their
economies. In many of the underdeveloped
countries, together with private capitalists and
small producers, state capitalism is develop-
ing rapidly. In the conditions of today state-

capitalist forms of ownership in these coun-
tries are objectively directed against imperial-
ist domination and help to build up the na-
tional economy, thereby strengthening the
positions of those countries on the world
arena.

This new and highly important trend orig-
inated in the process of the struggle for econ-
omic independence. The realities confronting
them make it imperative for the young Asian
and African states to build up the state sector
and develop their heavy industry. And in this
endeavor they can rely on the tangible aid of
the socialist states. And as the world positions
of the socialist system become stronger and
the progressive forces grow in the underde-
veloped countries, the conditions will be more
favorable for them to choose the non-capital-
ist way of development.

The disintegration of the colonial system is
bound to have far-reaching repercussions in
the internal development of the imperialist
countries. Although it will not lead to the
automatic collapse of imperialism, it is bound
to create new and insuperable difficulties for
it. The independent economic development of
the young national states aggravates the prob-
lem of markets in the capitalist world and
makes it more difficult to exploit the underde-
veloped countries by exporting capital. U.S.
imperialism, for instance, with its production
capacity inflated beyond all reason on the
assumption that its global economic expan-
sion will go on forever, is faced with
the by no means distant prospect of market
difficulties that will severely shake the econ-
omy. All the imperialist powers are finding it
harder to maneuver and solve their internal
contradictions by redistributing spheres of
influence and markets in the underdeveloped
countries. This intensifies the cut-throat com-
petition between the giant monopolies, who
are trying to find a way out at the expense
of their weaker capitalist partners. The result
is the steady crumbling of the so-called ‘““Wes-
tern unity.”

In this new situation the ruling bourgeoisie
in the capitalist countries is intensifying the
exploitation of the masses, waging an offen-
sive against living standards and the social
gains of the working class. This sharpens the
struggle between labor and capital, impels
the workers to fight back against monopoly
capital. The growth of class-consciousness
among the working people is spurred on also
by the fact that the disintegration of the colon-
ial system and the economic progress of the
underdeveloped countries, by narrowing the

42 WORLD MARXIST REVIEW

possibilities hitherto enjoyed by the imperial-
ist bourgeoisie to corrupt the upper strata of
the working class, undermine the economic
base of the labor aristocracy.

The recent events in Belgium are indicative
in this respect. When the Belgian monopolies
tried to make up for the considerable weaken-
ing of their economic positions in the Congo
by an “austerity plan” increasing taxation and
substantially cutting expenditure for public
and social needs, the working people respond-
ed with a general strike that paralyzed the
economic life of the country. The Belgian ac-
tion was one of the numerous big class strug-
gles which are now becoming a feature of
capitalist society. These processes cannot but
accelerate the disintegration of imperialism
and change the correlation of forces in favor
of socialism.

The Growth of the Imperialist
Contradictions

The new stage of the general crisis of capi-
talism is marked by a sharp aggravation of all
the contradictions of bourgeois society, and,
in particular, its basic contradiction — bet-
ween the social character of production and
the private form of appropriation. Above all,
these contradictions are manifested in the
growing inability of the capitalist system to
use all its productive forces. The trouble with
present-day American society, according to
Arthur Schlesinger, U.S. writer, is that the
whole emphasis is on profit for the private en-
trepreneur. More and more complaints are
heard about the United States not being able
to rise “above the department-store counter.”
Thanks to the capitalist system, the country
of Edison, which has always been disting-
uished for the talent of its people, has lost its
position of leadership in science and _ tech-
nologv. Its highways are jammed with mil-
lions of motor cars, yet many important scien-
tific and technological discoveries made some
25 or 30 years ago have either remained in the
freeze because they are not profitable enough
for private enterprise, or have been placed in
the service of militarism.

For, the monopoly bourgeoisie the way out
of the dead end created by the contradictions
between the social character of production
and the private-capitalist form of appropria-
tion is greater exploitation of the working
people through state-monopoly capitalism.
But this form, too, is rooted in the basic con-
tradiction of capitalism, it can but aggravate
the contradiction. The purpose of state-mon-
opoly capitalism is to preserve private own-

ership and capitalist production relations. Yet
it is precisely private, capitalist property that
is the source of all the contradictions of mod-
ern bourgeois society. State-monopoly capi-
talism gives full expression to the general
contradiction of capitalist development. On
the one hand, it reinforces the economic and
political positions of the monopolies and, on
the other, it prepares the material base of so-
cialism, leads capitalist economy towards all-
round socialization of production thus facili-
tating the subsequent realization of the tasks
of the socialist revolution.

With the growth of state-monopoly capital-
ism, the general instability of canitalism and
its steady decline are accentuated. A feature
of nostwar canitalism is the increasinelv spas-
modic functioning of the economic setup, the
absence of stability for any appreciable
length of time, deformation of the economic
cycle, constant fluctuation in business activ-
ity and irregular alternation of the so-called
booms with prolonged periods of economic
decline and stagnation. Such features as un-
der-emplovment of production capacities,
militarization of the economy, deliberate wast-
age of a vast part of the productive forces,
curtailing farm production and inflating the
non-production sphere have become comnon-
ents of economic life in the USA. The most
highly-develoned imperialist power, it is the
country in which the econmy is most distor-
ted by militarization.

In the fifteen years since the end of World
War II the USA has exnerienced three crises
of overnroduction and has again entered a
period of economic decline. And this desnite
all the state-monopoly “prons” of the Truman
and Eisenhower administrations. Unemnloy-
ment is still the number one problem. In 1960,
even according to official figures, the number
of unemnloved was more than six per cent of
the total labor force.

The uneven economic and political develop-
ment of the principal canitalist countries has
also become more pronounced. In the past
ten years U.S. industrial outnut has increased
at a rate one-half to two-thirds less than in
Western Europe. The share of the USA in
the industrial output of the capitalist coun-
tries declined from 56.5 ner cent in 1948 to
about 47 per cent in 1959, whereas the share
of the Western Euronean countries increased
notably. The same thing is happening on the
world market as well. In the early postwar
vears the USA was exnorting more goods
than all the West European countries taken
together; now the exports of the latter are

WORLD MARXIST REVIEW 43

2.5 times those of the United States. The
dollar, which once ruled the foreign exchange
markets, now finds itself in an extremely dif-
ficult situation. An unfavorable balance of
payments is draining the U.S. gold reserves
at a disastrous rate and experts entertain
serious fears that the administration may have
to devaluate the dollar.

The economic difficulties far from weaken-
ing the U.S. imperialist expansion serve to in-
tensify it. An indication of this is the growth
of investments abroad. By the end of 1959,
the total foreign investments of the U.S. mon-
opolies amounted to 64,700 million dollars. It
has been estimated that more than three-
quarters of the profits made from the export
of capital by all the capitalists taken together
flow into the vaults of American banks and
industrial corporations. U.S. imperialism is
indeed the biggest international exploiter.

At the same time the USA invariably takes
part as international gendarme in every opera-
ticn undertaken by imperialist reaction. When-
ever the ruling bourgeoisie of one or another
country is unable to cope with the growing
forces of democracy and progress, support is
sought from the U.S. imperialists. The Amer-
ican finance tycoons and monopolists have
been the initiators of joint action by the im-
perialist powers in the underdeveloped coun-
tries. U.S. imperialism is the hub, the driving
force and leader of neo-colonialism.

But although it is the dominant military ©

power in the imperialist camp, U.S. prestige
in the capitalist world has declined and its
leadership is questioned more and more fre-
quently. Having passed the zenith of its world
influence, the era of the weakening of the
global positions of U.S. imperialism has set
in. And the progressive weakening of this
main bastion of the imperialist system is one
of the most important and striking indications
of the deepening of the general crisis of capi-
talism.

A dual process is under way in the political
sphere in the capitalist countries. On the one
hand, part of the ruling class, alarmed by the
achievements of socialism and the national-
liberation movement, is searching for a way
out in “emergency” measures, in acts of poli-
tical recklessness and in plotting war as the
Wav to success in the competition of the two
svstems. On the other hand, the more sober-
minded politicians are inclining to the view
that the growing strength of socialism cannot
be countered only by police terror at home
and use of force abroad. The labor movement
should not ignore the difference between these

two trends, for it cannot be indifferent as re-
gards the methods used by the ruling class.

The new world situation enables the demo-
cratic forces, which have yet to say their last
word, to exert growing pressure also in those
countries where ihere are reactionary regimes.
The new correlation of forces on the world
arena facilitates the struggle for political de-
mocracy.

At the same time the persecution of Com-
munists and democrats continues. This per-
secution, varying in form from country to
country, is felt both in Spain and in the Unit-
ed States, in France and in West Germany.
As regards the United States, here we see a
steady usurpation of power by a handful of
finance-capitalists and a tendency for the
richest men in the country to take the
reins of government into their hands. Although
there has been a certain retreat from McCar-
thyism in its more outrageous forms, the do-
mination of the top brass and the war-indus-
try corporations is felt more than ever before.

The apologists for capitalism try to cover
up its deep-seated difficulties and contradic-
tions with the fiction that capitalism has
“changed.” Capitalism, they claim, has be-
come a “people’s capitalism,” while some—
the American economist, Adolph Berle, for in-
stance—say that the U.S. economic system
could best be described as “non-state social-
ism.”

This is a case of capitalism being ashamed
of its own name! What clearer proof could
there be of the debility of the capitalist sys-
tem, and what a lack of faith in its own

future?

The Force of Example Is a
Revolutionary Force

An analysis of the latest stage in the
general crisis of capitalism further clarifies
the prospects and forms of the working-class
struggle. It enables us to deduce first of all
that the chain of imperialism can be broken
in the conditions of peace. It shows, more-
over, that peaceful coexistence and peaceful
competition accelerate the revolutionary
process.

Peaceful coexistence signifies broadening
and developing the class struggle in the forms
most effective and expedient from the stand-
point of the working class and all other work-
ing people. The revolutionizing effect of the
economic and cultural advance in the socialist
countries is strikingly evident today. For in
our times the class struggle in the capitalist
countries develops not only on the basis of

44 WORLD MARXIST REVIEW

the sharpening internal contradictions of capi-
talism, but also under the growing impact of
the example of the socialist nations. And the
force of example can be a truly revolutionary
force.

The progress made by the socialist coun-
tries helps the working class in the capitalist
countries to intensify their struggle for both
immediate and ultimate aims. And, we say
with certainty that the building of socialism
and communism makes it easier for us to de-
velop our work among the masses. With the
achievements of the socialist countries to
point to, we can more effectively make the
advantages of the new social system clear to
the workers, farmers, intellectuals and espe-
cially the technicians on whom the scientific,
technological and cultural achievements of
socialism cannot but exert a powerful in-
fluence.

The social and national struggles in the
capitalist world are taking place against the
background of the changes on the world
arena. Take, for instance, the struggle waged
by the Negro people in the USA. None can
deny that they have wrested considerable con-
cessions from the rulers of the country in the
past half century. And this advance far from
causing any abatement, has, on the contrary,
elevated it to record levels. The explanation
is that the present struggle of the Negro peo-
ple in the United States for full rights is ob-
jectively tied up with the growth of world
socialism and the victories of the liberation
movement in all corners of the earth. The
new surge of the Negro movement derives not
only from the home situation but also from
the radical changes in the correlation of class
forces on the world arena.

Influenced by the achievements in the so-
cialist countries, the working class in the cap-
italist countries has intensified its struggle
for economic demands. In hard-fought class
battles it has won concessions from the cap-
italists and it is resolved to uphold and aug-
ment these gains. It would be wrong, there-
fore, to base our work among the masses on
the anticipation of a crisis of overproduction
or on: the absolute impoverishment of the
working people.

Nor should our work among those sections
of the working people who have won conces-
sions from the ruling class be based on the
assumption that they are threatened with the
loss of the gains and that only by bringing
this home to them can we convince them of
the necessity of socialism. The mainspring of
the growth of revolutionary consciousness

nowadays should be not in telling the worker
that tomorrow he will be worse off than he
is today; it should be sought in other ways.
First, it should be borne in mind that those
sections of the working class which have won
the greatest gains in economic struggle
against capital, are becoming increasingly
aware that for many of them they are indebted
to the socialist world system. For the very
existence of this system often compels the
monopolists to make concessions which, in
other circumstances, they would not even
dream of conceding. Second, growing num-
bers of workers in the capitalist countries are
beginning to realize that the partial victories
in the economic struggle will not rid them
of exploitation, the scourge of unemployment,
the crisis and insecurity, nor will they alter
in any way their position of inequality in the
capitalist system of production.

Today, as never before, big sections of the
working people are entering the revolutionary
struggle under the impact of the undeniable
successes of socialism. In the highly developed
capitalist countries the workers are begin-
ning to appreciate that even with the produc-
tive forces at the present level of development,
socialism can provide a much higher standard
of living and at the same time abolish all
forms of exploitation. The workers see that
even the gains won under capitalist conditions
can be retained only by persistent class strug-
gle. This, in particular, explains the growing
strike movement in the capitalist countries.
It should be stressed, moreover, that as things
are today purely political issues can be the
preliminary to far-reaching sociai actions even
without a purely economic motive to start
them off.

The Statement of the November 1960 Meet-
ing of Representatives of the Communist and
Workers’ Parties emphasized that the fight
for peace is a primary task of the Communist
parties. This follows from the premise that
the policy of peace stimulates rather than
retards the revolutionary processes, and helps
to rally the most varied social forces behind
the working class. The peace policy multiplies
the class allies of the proletariat; provides
bigger reserves for the socialist revolution
and simultaneously narrows the social base
of monopoly capital.

The demand for general and complete dis-
armament links the class struggle on the world
arena and in the capitalist countries into an
integral whole; it combines the struggle for
democracy and the economic demands of the
working people with the movement for so-

/
|
j

WORLD MARXIST REVIEW 45

cialism. The Communists in the capitalist
countries see their job in combining these
diverse aspects of the class struggle. For
instance, the fight for better housing can
produce results if it is combined with the
fight for peace and disarmament. Given the
alternative of home or the barracks, the work-
er always knows which to choose. At the
same time the fight for peace and disarmament
will help the working people in the capitalist
countries to get rid of whatever jingo senti-
ment the bourgeoisie may have instilled into
them during the cold war. In other words, it
will help to strengthen the unity of the work-
ing-class movement and deepen its class con-
sciousness.

We must help rid the working class of the
illusion that militarism means jobs and a high
level of business activity. The slogan of gen-
eral and complete disarmament provides the
working class of the capitalist countries with
an economic and political program of struggle
for their immediate demands. At the same
time it helps to isolate the more reactionary
elements of the ruling class—the war-industry
monopolies—and by so doing clears the way
for the fight for democracy. In these circum-
stances we should not close our eyes to the
prospect of powerful mass actions of the
organized workers and other forces to win
concession after concession from the govern-
ments and compel them to use state-capitalist
measures in the interests of the people as a

whole. In the conditions of today action for
democracy, peace, and national and social
rights can lead the masses on to the fight for
far-reaching social reforms, to the anti-mono-
poly phase of revolution. Action of this kind
paves the way for uniting the majority of the
population around the working class, with a
view to effecting the peaceful transition to
socialism in a number of capitalist countries.

It is imperative to rally all the revolutionary
forces against the imperialist oppression and
exploitation. These forces include the peoples
building socialism and communism, the revo-
lutionary working-class movement in the
capitalist countries, the national-liberation
movement of the oppressed peoples and the
various general democratic movements.

The fusing of all these forces into a single
mighty stream depends not only on favorable
objective conditions, but also on the correct
tactics of the Marxist-Leninist parties, on
their clear understanding of the unity and
indivisibility of the national and international
tasks of the working class.

Every turn in the situation nowadays im-
parts to the working class a more important
place in the march of history, makes it more
so than ever before the core of all the pro-
gressive movements. In its struggle it pursues
not only its own class aims, it stands for the
progress of all mankind. This is the guarantee
of the inevitable and complete victory of
socialism throughout the world.

1. Page 67: the three italicized lines in the last
paragraph of column 2 should be inserted
between the 3rd and 4th lines of the last
paragraph in column 1 on that page.

. Page 68: the footnote at the bottom of the
page goes with the asterisk at the bottom of
column | on page 67.

bo

3. Page 69: a) the first sentence of the first par-
agraph of the Alberdi article should read:

Corrections in December 1960 Issue

“The answers to the questionnaire and the
first editorial comment can be regarded as
an important contribution to Marxist-Leninist
research into the typical features and pec-
uliarities of the new sections of working peo-
ple now joining the ranks of the proletariat.”

b) the last line on the page in column 1
should follow line 2 of column 2 at the top
of the page.

46 WORLD MARXIST REVIEW

Post-Election Policy of the Italian
Communist Party

T ITS plenary meeting early in December, the

Central Committee of the Italian Communist

Party discussed the situation in the country and the
Party’s tasks after the November local elections.

The political events of last summer in Italy had
a decisive influence on the election results. At that
time the ruling Christian Democratic Party had
refused to change its policy in any way and by
seeking agreement with the fascist deputies was
angling for a firm majority in Parliament. Their
reactionary plans were upset, however, by the mili-
tant anti-fascist movement which began in July;
this action forced the Christian Democrats to
scuttle the Tambroni government, unquestionably
the most reactionary of all the postwar govern-
ments. In answer to Communist, Socialist, Social
Democratic and Republican demands for a transi-
tional government which would pave the way for
political leadership by new and more Left forces,
the Christian Democrats formed the Fanfani gov-
ernment.

The Communist Party denounced the Social
Democratic and Republican support of the Fan-
fani government as surrender to the Christian
Democrats and recognition of their political omnipo-
tence, as rejection of the unity of the democratic
forces which had triumphed in July. The Commun-
ists also criticized the Socialists for abstaining from
voting in Parliament when powers were being
sought for the Fanfani government, for this sig-
nified a weakening of the fight against the Chris-
tian Democrats and of working-class unity. The
Communists launched a mass struggle against the
government, whose policy runs counter to the de-
mands advanced by the popular movement of July.

Significance of the Election Results

Many Italian voters are still influenced by the
unlawful and shameful pressure brought to bear
upon them by the Church authorities; this explains
why their attitude in the elections is much more
to the Right than it is in their everyday life.
Nevertheless the election results were a defeat for
the policy pursued by the Rights and the maneu-

vers of the Right-Center and Center. They confirmed
the soundness of the Communist policy of seeking
unity and of consistently fighting against the Chris-
tian Democratic Party.

On a nationwide scale this party lost roughly
one million votes compared with the 1958 general
election, and about 50 per cent in the South speci-
fically. The Monarchists suffered a crushing de-
feat; only a part of their votes went to the fascist
MSI party (Italian Social Movement).

The Socialist Party lost over 220,000 votes, while
the Communists gained more votes than any other
party (over 100,000, an increase of 1.5 per cent)
and are now consolidating their positions in the
industrial regions. In fact 6,085,937 voted for the
Communists — one voter in every four.

All in all the Left received one and a half million
more votes than in the 1956 local elections. In other
words nearly 40 per cent of the electorate voted
for them — 46 per cent if we take into account
the other parties who call themselves ‘‘Lefts’’ and
stand to the Left of the Christian Democratic Party.

The Central Committee meeting did not confine
itself to analyzing gains, it examined the objective
and subjective reasons for the small or inadequate
increase in the vote in some places and why Com-
munist positions had weakened there or made no
headway.

Among the objective factors accounting for the
loss of votes, especially in the southern towns with
populations of over 10,000, is the fact that the fight
for the development of the South has abated in
recent years. When the battle was really on, the
middle sections and the vacillating groups of the
population came closer to the Communists. Other
factors contributing to the loss of votes in the South
were the Party’s poor organizational work and in-
sufficient unity between the movement for the deve-
lopment of the South and the anti-fascist struggle
throughout the country.

Concrete Programs, Not Unscrupulous Deals

Immediately after the elections the Communists
exposed the anti-democratic attempt to form new

ao = = om he h6Ueh CU ee

oa

WORLD MARXIST REVIEW 47

municipal and provincial councils through electoral
deals. They proposed an accord among the demo-
cratic forces on the basis of municipal and pro-
vincial programs permeated with an anti-fascist,
anti-monopoly spirit, for the radical democratic
regeneration of the country and better conditions
for the people.

In the view of the Communist Party these pro-
grams should be based on the following demands:

1. Immediate setting up of regional governments;
defense and extension of local autonomy; decentral-
ization of municipal government;

2. Further municipalization of the public ser-
vices; implementation — through public control —
of government programs for agricultural develop-
ment; initiative of !ocal administrations in the utili-
zation of power sources and the distribution of con-
sumer goods; participation by these bodies in re-
gional economic development plans;

3. Measures against speculation in building, ac-
quisition of municipal building sites; town plan-
ning; a democratic housing policy leading to a sub-
stantial cut in rents;

4. Reform of local finance; tax reductions for the
working people and other producers;

5. Extension of powers of and more initiative by
local government bodies in matters affecting the
secular modern anti-fascist school, and culture; the
establishment of youth advisory bodies in all the
municipalities; the democratization and reorganiza-
tion of the system of social security.

The aim, then, is to achieve political decentrali-
zation and popular participation in modernizing and
democratizing the life of society through the local
bodies elected by the people.

The Aim of Unity

Wherever the Communist and Socialist parties
hold the majority of seats in the local government
bodies, they work to broaden their majority by en-
couraging participation of other Left and demo-
cratic groups and parties. Wherever there is a
possibility of establishing a Left majority, the
Communists seek an agreement with the Social-
ists, Social Democrats, Radicals, Republicans and
autonomist forces.

Wherever the Left is in the minority, the Com-
munists call for joint Left programs and unity in
the struggle against the Christian Democrats. Such
unity in the localities — with each organization
retaining its autonomy and character — the Com-
munists stress, is the most effective means of win-
ning strong positions from which to negotiate with
the Christian Democratic Party, of compelling it to
shift towards the Left and to break its alliance with
the fascists, the monarchists and the Right Liberals.

Whoever is for a democratic regeneration should
work to achieve this unity, rejection of which by

parties and groups styling themselves Left, will spell
a crisis in their ranks and may lead to their losing
their Left character.

After the elections the Christian Democratic
Party proposed collaboration with the overtly Right
forces such as the Liberal and Monarchist parties,
etc.

Comrade Togliatti spoke at the meeting of the
need ‘‘to put an end to the ambiguous situation in
which the Chritsian Democratic government calls
itself anti-fascist and declares that it has no inten-
tion of co-operating with the fascists in local gov-
ernment bodies, yet in Sicily the Christian Demo-
crats are in the saddle together with the fascists.”’
There can be no compromise on this matter and no
respite in the struggle.

The anti-communist and “‘middle-of-the-road”’ atti-
tude of the Left wing of the Christian Democratic
Party and the Left Catholic forces has made them
ideologically and politically powerless. This has en-
abled the ruling group in the Chritsian Democratic
Party to slow down the development of the crisis
engendered in the past few years by the opposition
in its ranks. Unity of all democratic and Left par-
ties and groups is essential in order to steer the
crisis along the right channel and help rid the Cath-
olic forces of their anti-communism, ‘“‘middle-of-the-
road” ideas and the false dogma of Catholic unity.

To combat the present policy of the Christian
Democratic Party is and will be part and parcel
of the Communist policy of reaching agreement with
the Catholic masses, a policy that forms an inte-
gral part of ihe strategy of the Italian working
class aspiring to socialism.

How the Communist Party Criticizes the Socialists

Comrade Togliatti’s speech clarified the nature of
Communist criticism of the Socialists and Nenni.
“It seems to me,’ he said, ‘‘that there is a ten-
dency among the Socialists to divert the Socialist
Party from the road of struggle for socialism to the
path followed by the political groups and parties of
the so-called third force — the bourgeois-democratic
parties which are not fighting for socialism.’’ The
increasing frequency with which features of anti-
communism are appearing in socialist agitation and,
especially in the Socialist Party press, is a manifes-
tation of this. Shamefaced though this anti-commun-
ism is, the Communists must combat it, conducting
the polemic calmly and soberly so as not to aggra-
vate the relations between the two parties of the
working people. The indecision and duplicity display-
ed by the Socialist Party during the election cam-
paign have cost it many votes; for the first time in
many years the Socialist Party made no headway.
And it will lose even more votes if it degenerates in-
to the usual kind of radical democratic party with an
anti-communist attitude. Indeed, the strength of the
Socialist Party and its association with the Com-

48 WORLD MARXIST REVIEW

munist Party flow from the fact that the former has
taken the road of fighting for socialism. The at-
tempt to shunt it off this road is a misguided and
dangerous one. For it will deepen the rift in the
working class and may for a time even halt the
struggle for socialism. Only a diametricaily oppo-
site trend would be the correct one, for the working
people, including the Catholic working people, are
in ferment; more and more they are talking about
the need to abolish the capitalist regime and for
a social system aligned against capitalism, a sys-
tem which would be socialist at least in trend.

To steer along the path of struggle for socialism
the democratic parties and those in the Catholic
camp who really want to see democracy develop—
that would be the correct position. The conditions
are favorable for success in this field. But they can
only be turned to account by pursuing a correct
policy, stemming from the possibilities and perspec-
tives which appeared as a result of the new balance
of forces in the world and which appeared as a re-
sult of the achievements of the Soviet Union and the
other socialist countries. Shamefaced anti-commun-
ism and the pooh-poohing of the socialist perspec-
tive are out of step with reality, for they ignore
the new balance of forces.

What Should Be Done Today?

At the present stage, Comrade Togliatti said, “‘the
contradictions and conflicts rending the entire struc-
ture of capitalist economy and capitalist society are
coming to a head and bursting.”

Stressing that ‘the struggle for democracy and
the struggle for socialism are inseparable,’ Com-
rade Togliatti went on to say that “‘in this situa-
tion the working class has to pose the question of
power differently from the way it did at other
stages. . . . At the present stage, even when there
is no revolutionary crisis, the working class feels

the need to pose the question of ousting the ruling
classes from power and of securing the advent to
power of the working class in alliance with the
broad masses of the working population and the
middle sections. .. .

“But the working class can only make headway
in this direction if it has a vanguard party that
understands the peculiarities of the present situation
and is able to act according to the exigencies of
that situation. If the vanguard Party withdraws into
its shell, confines itself to conducting propaganda
and waiting for the hour to strike, the enemy will
always manage to keep in the saddle, even when
the conditions are similar to those obtaining now.

“What should be done today? The working-class
struggle should embrace all spheres of civic and
political life, and the Party at the head of working-
class actions should be able to lead that struggle
effectively and achieve concrete results... . The
nationwide struggle for socialism should be linked
ever more closely with the international anti-
imperialist struggle, for otherwise we shall grope
about like a blind man, without seeing the enemy,
or believing that there is no such thing. . . . The
anti-imperialist struggle and the fight for peace and
solidarity with the socialist countries are some-
thing which cannot be bypassed if one desires to
wage effective struggle for democratic development
along the road to socialism. First and foremost to-
day we should extend the activities of a party of
democracy and socialism such as ours is, by estab-
lishing close ties with all sections of the working
people and especially those strata whom we would
like to see in alliance with the working class. For
we know that the objective conditions for this al-
liance exist and that it is a prerequisite for the pro-
gress of these sections and the advance of our
society as a whole.”

WORLD MARXIST REVIEW 49
From the Experience of the Communist
Party of Uruguay
(Letters )

1. THE PARTY SLOGAN: “UNITY NOW!”

BIG rally held last October on the occasion

of the fortieth anniversary of the Communist
Party called on the anti-imperialist and democra-
tic forces to unite around a platform for the
democratic regeneration of the country.

The main points in this platform are:
—an independent foreign policy of peace, national
sovereignty, trade and friendship with all countries,
unity of all Latin Americans against U.S. imperial-
ism, support for Cuba and the Havana Declara-
tion;
—agrarian reform;
—protection and development of the national econ-
omy and abolition of the systems of monoculture;
—preservation of civil rights, the extension and re-
generation of the democratic institutions;

—satisfaction of the socio-economic and cultural
needs of the workers, peasants, pensioners, office
employees, students, teachers, painters, writers and
other intellectuals, small and middle businessmen
and traders;

—protection and development of public education,
of secular education, independence of the Univer-
sity, and democratization of the educational system.

This initiative of the Communist Party will with-
out doubt exert a big influence on political life.
Its proposals are being discussed in the University,
by workers and other sections. The Party news-
papers are featuring readers’ letters endorsing the
platform, while the pro-imperialist press, finding it
impossible to bury the appeal in silence, is attack-
ing the Party.

The struggle launched by the working people in
1955 was intensified after the 1958 elections when
the government, playing up to the latifundists and
big compradore capital, swung further to the right.
This struggle is now at its greatest momentum.
In the month between August 15 and September 15
three general strikes took place, embracing over
250,000 workers, about 50,000 students and other sec-
tions. The first strike was held under the slogan
of defense of the Cuban revolution, the others were
staged in solidarity with the workers who had down-
ed tools in defense of democratic liberties, against

the diktat of the International Monetary Fund and
in support of the students demanding bigger budget-
ary allocations for the University.

The working people have won not a few gains
in recent times: they frustrated the Government’s
design for emergency powers, paralyzed the ‘“‘auste-
rity”’ policy imposed by the International Monetary
Fund, safeguarded civil rights and formed new
trade union branches.

The ruling classes are doing everything in their
power to prevent the triumph of the mass patriotic
movement. But the people are marching in step
with the times. The Cuban revolution, which met
with profound response among the people, has en-
abled them to get a better understanding of the
different political forces and is furthering their
unity. Anti-Soviet propaganda, McCarthyism and
anti-communism of all hues are too closely asso-
ciated in the minds of the people with the attempts
to deprive them of bread and freedom for them
to be recruited under these banners.

The ultra-reactionary groups in the two tradition-
al parties (‘“Blanco” and ‘“‘Colorado’’) would like
to concentrate public attention on the forthcoming
elections, to divert the masses from the vital is-
sues, prevent any repetition of the Cuban example
and maintain the rotten political regime by all
means. But the party of the working class takes
into account that the social composition of these
parties is varied. Although the leading posts are
occupied by people who lend support to imperial-
ism or who take a conciliatory attitude towards
it, there are in these parties groups holding differ-
ent views. Sometimes they even disagree with the
leaders on such issues as the attitude to the Cuban
revolution, defense of working-class rights and sup-
port for working-class demands and democratic
freedoms. In working out our policy of unity we,
naturally, have these groups in mind.

But the basic condition for a broad democratic,
anti-imperialist front is strong Socialist-Communist
unity as the rallying point for all the patriotic and
democratic forces.

The Party’s appeal is addressed to all progres-
sives, irrespective of their political affiliation. The

50

Party calls upon them to pool their efforts and
work for the democratic regeneration of the coun-
try. .

The Party calls on the leaders and members of
the various patriotic movements to approach the
question of a formula for unity in all seriousness,
taking into account the present situation and the
future of Uruguay, to cast aside narrow-minded
views and to make no concessions to imperialism
and reaction. This idea was expressed with the
utmost brevity in the slogan “Unity Now!”’, which
means rounding off the struggle for a United Trade
Union Centre and, on the political plane, the uni-
fication of all progressive forces with the workers,
students, teachers and pensioners.

The Communist Party points to the dangers
threatening the country: the intensification of reac-
tionary tendencies and the loss of national sove-
reignty. The line of the ruling circles, says the ap-
peal, ‘“‘creates favorable soil for political corrup-
tion and unprecedented government lawlessness, ac-
companied by inroads into democratic rights, by
restricting the freedom of assembly, in ignoring
the Constitution, in security measures, victimization
of teachers and office employees, beating up work-
ers and students and using gases against them, in
forming and protecting pro-fascist groups financed
by the U.S. Embassy; these groups have raided
trade union premises and even staged a “general
rehearsal” — an abortive attack on the University.
The government’s actions reveal a tendency to-
wards abandoning the Constitution, violating law
and abolishing democracy.”

’ 2. COMMUNIST

WORLD MARKXIST REVIEW

This is why the question which way to take, is
a matter of urgency for the people of Uruguay. The
present policy of the government is worsening the
already bad condition of the people. The Communist
Party offers the people another way. This way en-
visages measures which signify a far-reaching
change in the present line and not just the re-
placing in power of one traditional party by an-
other, with the socio-economic structure and foreign
enslavement remaining as before. The Communist
Party does not claim that its platform is formu-
lated once and for all. On the contrary, it can be
broadened in agreement with the forces that are
ready to combine.

The platform expresses the basic tactical line of
the Party, the line of ensuring for the patriotic
and democratic forces a bigger say in deciding the
destiny of the republic, a bigger influence for the
working-class movement and the Communist Party
in national life and, lastly, of isolating the agents
of imperialism and the other reactionary forces.

To all who are ready for unity in the common
struggle the Communist Party suggests a prelimin-
ary exchange of opinion, possibly at a conference
convened by leaders of the trade union movement,
students, pensioners, etc. The Party is confident
that its slogan, “‘Unity Now!’’, expresses the aspi-
rations of hundreds of thousands of workers, peas-
ants, students and intellectuals, all of whom are
striving for the regeneration of the republic, for
aligning it with those Latin American countries
which, by their struggle, are hastening the inevit-
able destruction of imperialism.

Rita IBARBURU

M.P.”.S AND THE

MASS MOVEMENT

LTHOUGH there are only two Communists

among the 99 deputies in the Chamber of
Deputies in Uruguay, it is they who often become
the centre of attention during parliamentary de-
bates.

Why is this so?

The point here of course is not in any personal
qualities but rather in the close contact between
the Communists and the working people generally,
and in the nature of their work. The Communist
M.P.’s express the aspirations of the masses, they
are the genuine representatives of the people. They
take up the demands advanced by working people
at meetings and demonstrations and use them in
shaping parliamentary proposals and bills.

How is this done? A trade union, let us say, puts
forward demands. The Communist Party commit-

tee and branches in the particular locality develop
a struggle around these demands and rally the
people. Our newspaper, El Popular, launches cam-
paigns for them; its correspondents interview labor
leaders and talk with the workers at factory gates.
Their reports and articles help create a certain
public opinion. Similar campaigns are developed
also by the local Party press.

The Communist M.P.’s attend workers’ meetings,
set forth the views of the Party and undertake to
introduce a parliamentary bill reflecting the de-
mands of the working pecple. Not infrequently they
draft bills jointly with the union leaders and then
insist both in the Chamber of Deputies and in com-
mittee that these bills be placed ori the order of
the day, debated and approved.

A stay-in strike, say, is reported to the Com-
munist M.P.’s who then go to the factory concern

WORLD MARXIST REVIEW 51

ed. They often come to the Party branch meet-
ings attended by non-Party workers (the usual
method of recruiting members). Whenever workers
request the Communist M.P.’s to address their
meetings and outdoor rallies, they are never let
down. The reception office of the Communist M.P.
is always crowded; here one can meet rank-and-file
workers, and trade union officials. In this way our
deputies become acquainted with the needs of the
working people, and this enables them to do better
work in Parliament.

Getting a law enacted in a capitalist state is often
very complicated. Persistence and determination are
needed to surmount all the obstacles. When a bill
is drafted it is passed on to the appropriate par-
liamentary committee which decides whether it
should be put on the order paper and debated.
After this the bill goes to the Senate, and much
public pressure is needed in order to get this body
to approve a Communist-drafted bill. This co-
ordination of efforts of the Party, its branches,
M.P.’s, the Party press and the working-class move-
ment yields fruit.

In the meat-packing industry, for instance, our
Party has been working in two directions — in-
vestigating the sources of profit made by foreign
firms (daughter enterprises of U.S. companies Swift
and Armour and the British Anglo company), and
the struggle for the workers’ demands. The profits
investigation, carried out with the participation of
the Communist M.P.’s, showed that the imperialist
monopolies are plundering the country and con-
stantly violating its laws. This investigation played
a part in driving the foreign companies out of Uru-
guay after their nearly fifty years’ domination; in
1958 the property of these companies was national-
ized. The workers have also gained success in
regard to unemployment benefits, Christmas bonus-
es (so-called “‘family gifts’), etc. These gains were
the joint fruits of the investigation, the strike of
the meat-packers and the general strike in solidar-
ity with them.

The October events of 1958 were of great signifi-
cance. Two mass demonstrations took place outside
Parliament in the first half of that month; the
demonstrators included factory and office workers,
pensioners, students, peasant delegations, intellec-
tuals and representatives of the middle sections.
Their demands were the same as those put forward
by the Communist M.P.’s in Parliament. Many of
the demands were incorporated into the bills intro-
duced by the Communists or drafted with their par-
ticipation. Law after law was passed till the last
day of the term of office (October 15 of the election
year). Over 40 laws were passed in favor of the
working people, and the Statute of the University,
drafted on the initiative of students and teachers,
was approved.

We shall mention some of these laws: a six-hour
day for medical workers; amendments to the law
on family allowances; unemployment benefits for
the workers employed at the San-Jose mill; annual
holidays for workers in state-owned enterprises on
the same terms as in privately-owned enterprises;
sick benefits for road-transport workers and the
personnel of the interdepartmental bus lines; regu-
lar hours and definite shifts for the personnel of
service stations, garages and private telegraph
agencies; general unemployment benefits; sick pay
for building workers; amendments to the law
governing the labor exchanges in ports; subsidies
to the dockers in the port of Montevideo; allow-
ances for the seasonal workers employed in the Ar-
tigas and Swift meat-packing plants; increased pay-
ments to bank employees upon reaching pension
age; a minimum wage of 150 pesos for agricultural
laborers, etc.

What does the law on sick benefits signify to
the building worker? He gets his full wage begin-
ning from the fourth day of illness and also in case
of accident, and this continues for two years. In
the event of a man being incapacitated he can
draw his wage for 200 days ahead. During illness
the worker receives medical aid practically free
of charge (the fee is negligible).

Of great significance in Parliament is the labor
legislation committee. A good many of the bills
that come before it are submitted by the Commun-
ist deputies, who make a point of attending its
meetings. This committee is visited by numerous
delegations of workers and usually plays the role
of mediator in labor disputes. When a strike breaks
out the Communist deputies often suggest that this
committee should try to settle the dispute, in favor
of the workers, of course.

For Communist deputies Parliament is not only
an instrument for upholding the workers’ interests
but also a tribune from which they speak in sup-
port of proposals of national importance and seek
to achieve unity with all the anti-imperialist forces.
The Communists have exposed in Parliament the
political, economic and military penetration of U.S.
imperialism, the colonialist designs of the Inter-
national Monetary Fund and its attempts to turn
Uruguay into its domain; they have condemned
the provocations against the socialist countries,
stressed the need for a radical agrarian reform
and have raised their voices in defense of the
Cuban revolution, in support of the Latin American
peoples fighting against the military dictatorships
imposed on them by U.S. imperialism.

Parliament, then, is an arena for the defense of
democracy. When “the state of emergency” was
proclaimed (on the pretext of breaking strikes
the people were deprived of basic freedoms), the
Communist M.P.’s called on the people to be vigi-

a4 WORLt MARXIST REVIEW

lant. They laid bare the design to perpetuate this
regime. The 60,000-strong demonstration held on
April 6, 1960, outside Parliament and the joint pro-
test of the Communist deputies, Socialist and other
democratic forces, resulted in the rejection of a
bill restricting trade union rights.

Sometimes the Communist M.P.’s make _inter-
pellations. In Uruguay an interpellation signifies
something more than putting a question to minis-
ters; it opens a general debate on government ac-
tions in one or another sphere. Such is the right
of a parliamentary minority. The interpellation is
accepted if it has the backing of thirty-three depu-
ties. In this case the minister is obliged to reply;
a debate is opened with the deputy who submitted
the interpellation acting as the leading spokesman.
The vote of censure may lead to the resignation
of the minister. The present government is doing
everything it can to avoid interpellations with a
view to making this weapon of the opposition in.
effective.

The first interpellation in the present Parlia-
ment was made by the Communist deputies; it con-
cerned the demand for increases in old-age pen-
sions and benefits. The Communist deputies initiat-
ed inquiries about the sanctions taken against
teachers and lecturers in higher education, in de-
fense of secular education, etc. They have upheld
in Parliament the rights of the civil servants, the
demand for bigger allocations for public education,
the health service, and so on.

The Communist deputies regularly report on their

activity at rallies arranged by the Party and to
meetings of trade unionists.

All that has been said about the Communist M.P.’s
is equally applicable to the Communist municipal
councillors (there are three Communists in the
Montevideo municipal council). The local councillor
takes up the demands of the townspeople and the
municipal employees, questions of high prices,
fares, etc.

The activity of the Communist M.P.’s furthers
the political education of the people. Workers meet
the Communist deputies and the Party leaders at
meetings, during strikers’ marches to the capital,
and in the factories occupied by the strikers. The
workers see for themselves that the Communist
deputies fight on their behalf both in Parliament
and outside it, fight for one and the same aims, and
they compare them with the bourgeois deputies.
This enables the working people to distinguish
friends from enemies, helps them to acquire poli-
tical experience.

Although the possibilities of the Party depend on
the political situation and the scale of the mass
movement, the work of the Communist deputies is
a vital factor. We consider it necessary to stress,
within the limits of our modest experience, the
active, dynamic, organizing and educational role
of the Communist deputies and the importance of
the Party co-ordinating, on the basis of a uniform
plan, work in the mass movement, the work of the
Communist deputies, the Party press and the fac-
tory branches.

Niko SCHWARTZ

3. OUR COURSES AND SCHOOLS

DEOLOGICAL work in the process of building

the Party has never been viewed by us as a
purely inner-Party matter; we have always linked
it with the militant activity of Communists in the
mass movement, the experience of which is sum-
marized in theoretical concepts.

After the Sixteenth Congress (1955) of the Party
which was a turning point in the application of the
fundamentals of Marxism-Leninism to the specific
conditions of Uruguay, the Party leadership orga-
nized a series of study courses. We studied those
Marxist-Leninist classics which had a particular sig-
nificance for our ideological problems. We organiz-
ed also a discussion on the basic issues facing the
country. Estudios, the theoretical journal of the
Party, dates from this time. For the purpose of ac-
quainting the activists and functionaries with the
main ideas of the discussions we arranged week-
end schools at which the Congress materials were
studied. Shortly afterwards we opened a national

Party school which trained 20 contingents in two
years.

We practice the method of public meetings, that
is, branch meetings to which non-members are in-
vited. At these meetings Party speakers explain the
theoretical and political problems of international
and home policy. These meetings are useful from
the educational standpoint and are a means of re-
cruiting new members.

A new educational plan adopted in June 1959
based on the Seventeenth Congress decisions, de-
fined the purpose of ideological and political educa-
tion as follows:

“1) To train politically and ideologically hundreds
of intermediate-level functionaries; 2) to raise
the political level of the leading cadres; 3) to ac-

quaint both old and new members especially work-

ers with the basic ideas of the program and the
Rules of the Party; 4) to make a deep study of
the home situation and to arrange for the training

WORLD MARXIST REVIEW 53

of tutors in such subjects as philosophy, history,
economics, etc.; 5) to arrange for the consistent
study of theory by the basic cadres, chiefly work-
ers, who will be the future leaders of the Party.”

What progress did we make in this direction?
How did we go about the job?

We should mention in the first place the four-week
National School for intermediate-level cadres, es-
pecially for the outlying districts. The curriculum
includes a study of the problems of the revolution
in Uruguay and Latin America as a whole, tactics
of the Party, its principles and methods of organi-
zation, political economy and history, the economic
and political structure of the socialist system, and
the transition from socialism to communism based
on the example of the USSR. Then there are classes
on everyday Party life: how to phrase slogans
and posters, to edit articles and how to prepare
speeches, etc.

We have in addition an advanced eight-week even-
ing course. Those attending are relieved of Party
work. During the week the students study particular
subjects which are then discussed in class under
the guidance of a tutor. Study materials include the
program and the Rules of the Party, the plan for
building the Party and developments in the Soviet
Union.

Short-term courses which study the program and
the Rules of the Furty are attended by those new
to political life, especially the new members re-
cruited among workers.

Public lectures held in Party premises attract
hundreds of people. The subjects include: Lenin’s
theory of a democratic and socialist revolution; the
experience of building socialism in the USSR and
other countries; the Twenty-First Congress of the
Communist Party of the Soviet Union; the revolu-
tion in Cuba; the Leninist teaching on the Party;
democratic centralism; the Party and the masses;
modern revisionism; bourgeois theories of contem-
porary capitalism; the main stages in the socio-
economic history of Uruguay; aspects of the forty
years’ history of our Party, etc.

Not long ago we arranged a cycle of four lec-
tures — one a month — for the branches: on the
program, the Rules of the Party, its political plat-
form and, lastly, on the Soviet Union. Non-members
are also invited to these lectures.

The newspaper El Popular has a special column
entitled “Theory and Policy.” The column, which
appears weekly, carries brief points on theory, ex-
plains the terminology used in Marxist-Leninist
literature, and recommends reading material.

On the occasion of the 90th anniversary of
Lenin’s birth the Central Committee and the Party
Committee in the Montevideo Department held
seminars on the role of the bourgeoisie in the Latin

American revolution and on some problems of
Leninism. Central Committee members attended a
series of lectures read at the National school. There
are also permanent courses for the perscrmel of
the Central Committee departments.

The Communist Youth Union has held seminars
for the branch secretaries of the youth organiza-
tions and for its student members; educational-
recreation camps have proved useful, too.

The decisive thing, of course, is the quality of
the study. There are two dangers here: the danger
of losing touch with reality and with the vital poli-
tical tasks, a dogmatic approach to problems of
theory, and the danger of reducing the theoretical
study to a commentary on current events. One way
of correctly linking theory with practice is that
in addition to such documents as the program and
Rules of the Party, we study important articles
and statements by leaders and theorists of our
Party and the fraternal parties, published in the
journals Estudios and in World Marxist Review.
The classes discuss the plans for Party work,
concentrating on the essence of the matter and not
on the organizational details. Of great significance
is the direct participation of the Party leaders in
the educational work (reading lectures, conducting
seminars, and so on).

But the decisive condition for improving the
studies is proper selection and training of the
tutors. The difficult here is the shortage of per-
sonnel. Most of our tutors — comrades with rich
experience of Party work and a good grounding in
theory — have, as a rule, other assignments, often
very important ones. We are trying to train more
tutors, selecting them from among the more prom-
ising students, taking into account, of course, their
social background and their experience of Party
work. Once a week all tutors attend a special class,
and tutors’ meetings are held regularly.

In line with the new pian for extending and con-
solidating the Party, we contemplate a further de-
velopment of educational work. We have in mind
the gradual inclusion in the curricula of Marxist-
Leninist philosophy and political economy and, con-
sequently, the study of the Marxist-Leninist classics.
Some of the students attending the National School
will take a special, advanced course. The publica-
tic. of a series of booklets (on the international
situation, the Soviet Union, building socialism in the
different countries, organizational matters, econom-
ics, etc.) will enable us to arrange a new type
of course, mainly for the new members. We make
a special point of systematic individual study by
our leading cadres, especially members of the Cen-
tral Committee and personnel of its departments
and also by a few dozen of the better developed
workers. Education in the ranks of the Communist
Youth Union and especially among student mem-

54 WORLD MARXIST REVIEW

bers is not satisfactory and must be improved.
Lastly, a decision has been taken to open a Marxist-
Leninist Institute for research and dissemination of

Marxism-Leninism.

Realization of the vital importance of educational
work constantly impels us to search for new ways
and means of intensifying it.

Jose Luis MASSERA

For the Leninist Party Spirit in Philosophy

DEOLOGICAL life in Hungary is being appre-

ciably influenced by the Theses published some
time ago and entitled ‘‘For the Leninist Party Spirit
in Philosophy.”

Prepared by a group of comrades working in
the Central Committee of the Socialist Workers’
Party, the Theses were discussed at a meeting of
philosophers.

They review briefy the development of Marxist
philosophy in Hungary which was always closely
associated with the struggle waged by the Com-
munist Party. Even when the Party was under-
ground theoreticians were working on the problems
of Marxist-Leninist philosophy and helping the
Party’s political and ideological work. And after
the Liberation Marxist philosophers attuned their
work to the Party’s ideological struggle. In their
future work too, they will be guided by these tra-
ditions.

When at its Seventh Congress the Party charted
the course for the accelerated building of social-
ism, it laid the foundation upon which the philoso-
phers should base their activities. The international
class struggle and the building of socialism require
that Marxist philosophy should effectively help in
scientifically substantiating Party policy, in deepen-
ing socialist consciousness, in furthering science
and in combating bourgeois and petty bourgeois
ideology.

But as the Theses point out, philosophical work
in the past decade has not been without short-
comings, for a long time it failed to meet the de-
mands made upon it, and at one time anti-Marxist
trends began to appear among the philosophers.
Especially harmful was the philosophical revision-
ism which fused with political revisionism and in
1956: joined company with other bourgeois ideologi-
cal trends. The spread of dogmatism, naturally, did
not make it any easier to overcome revisionism.
For some years prior to 1956 there had been no
really consistent Marxist-Leninist line on the fun-
damental problems of philosophy. After the counter-
revolutionary putsch, therefore, communist philoso-
phers again had to set about building a united
Marxist-Leninist philosophical front, combating anti-
Marxist trends and making a Marxist-Leninist ana-
lysis of the problems. In the course of this work

they had to look the truth in the face, get at the
core of the harmful phenomena which in the past
had hampered philosophical work and take resolute
action against revisionism and dogmatism.

Georg Lukacs, one of the more influential repre-
sentatives of international philosophical revisionism,
was chiefly responsible for the spread of revision-
ism in Hungary. Lukacs’ revisionism is, in fact, a
system of anti-Marxist views. Although he has
achievements to his credit in the sphere of aesthet-
ics and in historico-literary work, his writings are,
on the whole, permeated through and through with
the spirit of revisionism. The Party had justly
criticized his Right views — especially on politics,
literature and aesthetics—as far back as 1949-51.
The mistake, however, was that his revisionist
philosophical concepts were not subjected to the
appropriate criticism in good time. For this reason
Lukacs and his followers were able for many years
to influence the country’s philosophical life in the
revisionist spirit. Even after 1956 the attitude to-
wards Lukacs’ revisionist views was conciliatory,
despite the fact that his political stand during the
counter-revolutionary putsch brought out the re-
visionist essence of his theoretical concepts. Con-
ciliation and wavering in relation to philosophical
revisionism were displayed even by comrades who,
while loyal to the Party on fundamentals, failed for
a long time to see through the anti-Marxist
essence of philosophical revisionism and especially
of Lukacs’ philosophy.

The meeting of philosopers unanimously condemn-
ed the concilatory attitude towards the man‘festa-
tions of philosophical revisionism in past years in
the Institute of Philosophy and in the journal
Magyar filozofiai szemle. The ideological struggle
against revisionists of the Lukacs type was an inte-
gral part of the operation of purging cultural life
of revisionist influence; the statements made by
German, Soviet, French and other comrades against
the Lukacs revisionism were also of great help.

We must continue to combat manifestations of
philosophical revisionism, and the struggle should
not be confined to criticism of Lukacs’ views—al-
though we cannot say that this criticism is over and
done with.

Dogmatism, too, had a detrimental effect on philo-
sophical life. It was manifest in the scornful aiii-

sa

WORLD MARXIST REVIEW 55

tude towards any philosophical analysis of the
problems posed by social reality and the develop-
ment of the natural sciences, in underestimating
the importance of the laws and categories of dialec-
tical materialism, questions of dialectical logic, in
the nihilistic approach to the history of philosophy
and in eschewing criticism of modern bourgeois
philosophy and sociology. What is true of ideology
in general is equally true of philosophy — revision-
ism cannot be combated from dogmatic and sec-
tarian positions. A conciliatory attitude towards
dogmatism is every bit as alien to Marxism as
coming to terms with revisionism — and the rem-
nants of dogmatism in philosophy have not yet been
wholly eradicated.

It is typical of modern Marxist philosophy in
Hungary that it is steadily overcoming the former
revisionist and dogmatic mistakes. Lenin’s concept
of the Party spirit is, increasingly, coming to the
fore in philosophical works. The philosophers have
had to defend this concept from bourgeois ‘‘objec-
tivism”’ on the one hand, and from dogmatic sub-
jectivist distortions, on the other. ‘‘Objectivism,”
which divorces philosophical research from life
and from Party activity, imparts to philosophy an
abstract pseudo-scientific character, and steers it
away from the practical class struggle (this, how-
ever, did not prevent the revisionists, when it suit-
ed their purpose, from indulging in anti-Party acti-
vity). On the other hand, subjectivist distortions
separate the Party spirit from the search for ob-
jective truth, hamper creative thinking and try to
fit Marxist-Leninist philosophy into rigid confines.

The Theses proceed from the unity of the Party
and the scientific character of dialectics, from the
historical materialism of Marx and Lenin. Loyalty
to the cause of the Communist Party and hence to
the working class and the working people as a
whole, is a vital condition in the search for objec-
tive truth in the conflict between the social world
outlooks. And the Party spirit in its turn calls
above all for a strictly scientific approach to the
search for objective truth. In the main the Party
spirit at present is manifested in the close link be-
tween theoretical work in philosophy, on the one
hand, and practice, the Party’s policy, the inter-
national and domestic ideological struggle, and the
advance of science, on the other.

Sectarianism underrated the importance of ideo-
logical work. It would be a mistake to think that
the Party spirit signifies a parroting of Marxist
principles. That, like the attempts theoretically to
justify sectarian mistakes, is the subjectivist con-
cept of the Party spirit. And after the harm caused
by dogmatism, it should be stressed over and over
again (although this would appear to go without
saying) that the principle of the Party spirit is rea-
lized in the way problems are solved, in the nature
of the articles and books. Even the most topical

problem will be of little value if the level of its
elaboration is low, if it is schematic, makes no
generalizations, and if ideological boldness, a really
creative approach and fighting spirit are wanting.

On the basis of these demands, the Theses indi-
cate the main lines along which philosophical work
should go. The primary task is to continue working
on philosophical problems germane to the building
of socialism, to study the operation of the laws and
categories of dialectical and historical materialism
in Hungary in the transition period from capitalism
to socialism, and to extend and enrich the content
of the laws and categories of dialectical materialism
by generalizing experience. Philosophy should-ana-
lyze the concrete manifestations of reality and not
seize upon isolated superficial phenomena and fit
them into abstract concepts which, in this way,
become lifeless and sterile.

The Theses enumerate the problems on which the
philosophical work should centre: objectivity of so-
cial laws and the conscious application of these
laws; the dialectics of the productive forces and
the production relations in the transition from capi-
talism to socialism; the nature of the contradic-
tions in a society building socialism; the character
of the socialist state and its socio-economic role;
the laws governing the shaping of class relation-
ships; the contradictions between the two world
systems; the problems of peaceful coexistence; the
relation between internationalism and the specific
national features; the problems of socialist ethics:
the cultural revolution and the development of
socialist consciousness.

Communist philosophers should exert an influ-
ence on ideological and cultural life, and help the
Party combat bourgeois and petty-bourgeois ideo-
logical trends in science, literature and the arts.
The Theses point out that historical science, liter-
ary research, economic science, literary and art
criticism and pedagogics necessitate the elaboration
of problems of an ideological and methodological
nature. Criticism of nationalism and religion is
urgently needed, because these two forms of a ret-
rograde ideology are the most widespread and the
most harmful.

Much attention is devoted to the connection be-
tween Marxist philosophy and the natural sciences.
In this sphere there is adherence to sound tradi-
tions. However, idealistic and especially positivist
views continue to influence the teaching of the na-
tural sciences. To strengthen the bond linking
philosophy and the natural sciences, the philoso-
phers should make a deeper study of the natural
sciences, and the natural scientists of philosophy.
Marxist philosophers should play an active part
in combating idealistic, bourgeois reactionary trends
in the natural sciences, first and f most in the
sphere of the Quantum theory, the theory of rela-

56 WORLD MARXIST REVIEW

tivity, the physics of elementary particles, biology
and physiology.

Propagation of the Marxist-Leninst world outlook
and the active participation of the philosophers in
moulding the socialist consciousness of the working
people are important components of philosophical
work. Although considerable success has been
achieved in the propagation of Marxist-Leninist
ideology there is still a lag in this field. Populari-
zation of philosophy must be more convincing and
effective. Correct answers must be given to the
questions agitating the people; it is necessary to
proceed from the actual problems of life, to combat
anti-Marxist views which hamper the development
of socialist consciousness among the working peo-

The Question

ple. We must see to it that Party activists know
the classics of Marxism-Leninism, are conversant
with the problems of Marxist-Leninist philosophy.
They should be able to apply dialectical material-
ism in their work. At the same time the teaching
of philosophy should be conducted in the broadest
possible way.

In drafting the fifteen-year plan for scientific re-
search, provision was made for philosophical inves-
tigation of this kind, measures worked out for im-
proving the Magyar filozofiai szemle and the
Chairs of Philosophy in the Institute of Philosophy
of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, in the
Higher Party School and in the higher educational
establishments.

of Mauritania

(Patriotic Attitude of the Moroccan Communists)

HE people of Morocco and the various classes

and groups are anxious to round off the inde-
pendence of their country. They are insisting on the
withdrawal of U.S. and Spanish troops, they are
supporting the people of Algeria and want to help
Mauritania io reunite with Morocco, the mother-
land.

This last aspect of the anti-imperialist struggle
has assumed a particularly sharp character with
the granting of ‘independence’ to Mauritania. A
conflict which has arisen on this issue between in-
dependent Morocco and imperialist France threat-
ens to develop into an armed clash.

The Communist Party of Morocco, like the libera-
tion movement generally, holds that Mauritania is
part of Morocco. The population of both territories
come from one and the same ethnical stock.

For centuries Mauritania and Morocco were a
single entity both economically and culturally. What
is more, up to the time of the French occupation
they were not administratively divided.

The invasion of the Moroccan territory began in
1904, and it was only thirty years later that the
French imperialists conquered Mauritania. The peo-
ple of its territory put up a sturdy resistance and,
what is very important, they fought under the slogan
of reunification with the motherland. All Moroc-
cans sided with them in this struggle.

The French military occupation put an end to
the unity of Mauritania and Morocco.

Why are the French imperialists trying so hard
to split off Mauritania from Morocco? Chiefly be-

cause since 1956 Morocco has been an independent
country. And all the signs are that in the years to
come Morocco will achieve complete liberation —
complete independence from the imperialists both
economically and in the military respect.

French imperialism needs a toehold in Africa to
keep an eye on the African countries, first of all
on Algeria. The facts show that it has chosen Mau-
ritania for this purpose. And it is not mere chance
that the puppet premier of Mauritania has made a
request for 40,000 French soldiers in addition to
those already in the country.

France, of course, has also economic interests.
Mauritania, which occupies an area of 1,100,000
square kilometres, is rich in minerals. Deposits
of iron ore, for instance, are estimated at 8,000
million tons; some of the deposits have a 70 per
cent iron content, that is, higher than that of
Swedish iron ore. The deposits of copper ores and
rare metals are likewise considerable.

The independence granted to Mauritania and to
the other colonies of the French Union is purely
formal. This is not to imply, of course, that we
take a negative view of the steps which the im-
perialists have been forced to take. On the con-
trary, we think that these measures will help peo-
ple who have been granted this ‘independence’
to advance towards genuine liberation. But as far
as Mauritania is concerned, the ‘‘independence”’ ac-
corded to it is, in our opinion, a negative factor
because it detaches a part of the territory of a
country, and establishes a new form of foreign
domination there. The ‘‘independence’’ granted to

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WORLD MARXIST REVIEW 57

Mauritania is an obstacle to its progress, whereas
reunification with Morocco would enable it to go
ahead. This does not mean that we would prefer
a continuation of French rule in Mauritania. We
want her to win freedom through reunion with the
already liberated part of Morocco. Our view is in
line with the aspirations of the bulk of the Moroc-
can liberation movement and of most Mauritanians.

The struggle for the liberation of Mauritania is
only beginning. And there can be no doubt that it
will develop in the days to come. We, the Moroc-
can Communists, are confident that it will end in
the reunification of Mauritania with a free and inde-
pendent Morocco.

We see the vacillation of the national bourgeoisie

on the Mauritanian issue, and we believe that the
working class and its Party in alliance with other
progressive forces will have to overcome this
weakness of the national bourgeoisie and resolve
the issue.

We do not separate this struggle from the other
tasks — from our aid to Algeria and from the
struggle to extend democracy in our country. Nor
do we separate it from the fight for peace and
peaceful coexistence.

We are convinced that we are supported in this
not only by the communist movement, but also
by progressive people everywhere.

Mohamed ESSAOUIRI

The Daily Worker — Paper of the
Working Class

HE Daily Worker operates in exceptionally

difficult circumstances. It is common knowledge
that, in the postwar years, a number of big British
newspapers have either disappeared or been swal-
lowed up by mergers. This was the case recently
with the London News Chronicle and Star, papers
of long standing and which had a fairly large circu-
lation. Not a single successful daily newspaper has
been launched throughout this period.

So the Daily Worker’s continued appearance is
truly a miracle. It appears every day only be-
cause of the unstinted financial and moral support
of its readers and the loyalty and devotion of the
Party members.

In the fourth decade of its existence the Daily
Worker has a more decisive role to fill than ever
Its aim is to speak for the people of Britain. The
paper is in the van of the struggle for the national
interests. It acts as a collective organizer in sup-
port of a more rational solution of the vital prob-
lems. A recent example was the discussion in its
columns of the problems posed for the labor move-
ment in Britain by the refusal of Gaitskell to abide
by the Scarborough decisions. This discussion,
which will culminate in a Daily Worker conference
in February 1961, is designed to further the cam-
paign against the U.S. nuclear bases and for uni-
lateral nuclear disarmament and should be instru-
mental in bringing about closer unity in the strug-
gle for a really sound home and foreign policy and
for socialist aims.

We maintain that a policy based on nuclear
weapons is no defense of Britain. That is why the
paper is foremost in voicing the popular protests

against the bomb, for example, the marches from
Aldermaston to London at Easter, and other
marches to American bases.

The Daily Worker’s columns are open to persons
reflecting the broad progressive trends. During the
past year, for example, it has published articles
by Labor M.P.’s, including Konni Zilliacus, Richard
Kelley, among others, and interviews with many
trade union officials. It fearlessly exposes those
Right-wing Labor and trade union leaders who are
ready to follow Pentagon policy and to place Bri-
tain in pawn to the U.S. imperialists.

The good-will built up by the paper extends far
beyond its circulation. Just an example. Recently
the Daily Worker was denied the right to advertise
on TV. In view of this the Independent Television
Authority which imposed the ban was literally
flooded with protests from trade unions and other
public organizations. When this issue was raised
in the House of Commons on December 21, Labor
M.P.’s spoke against this discrimination in relation
to the daily paper of the British working class.

The Daily Worker’s leading articles and commen-
taries, its reporting of political and economic activ-
ities, such as its struggle for higher wages are high-
ly esteemed among the workers in the enterprises.
So, too, is its reporting of the fight against rent
increases, a case in point being the recent rent
battle in St. Pancras, London. The paper consis-
tently campaigns for the tenants, many of whom
have been forced to pay double and even treble
the previous rents. It vigorously protests that money
from the tenants pours into the pockets of the land-
lords and money-lenders. We are convinced that

58 WORLD MARXIST REVIEW

without the sympathetic treatment in the Daily
Worker the tenants’ struggle could hardly have
reached its present high level.

In all these things the Daily Worker proves
that it is a real champion of the people’s interests
— the only champion of its kind in Britain. With-
out it the people would be tremendously handicap-
ped in their struggles for a fuller and better life,
in their struggles against all the forces of reaction.
For these reasons a bigger circulation — from
which can emerge a bigger paper better able to
serve all the progressive trends among our people
— is essential.

Thanks to the efforts of the Party branches and
members, nearly 16,000 extra copies of the Daily
Worker are sold at weekends. For the Party to be
in touch with these readers among whom are many
ardent supporters, is a big political asset.

A number of Party branches have arranged for
local news agents to display the Daily Worker
by guaranteeing them against loss of unsold copies.
On average, half of the copies displayed are sold.
This experience has demonstrated the great value
of this to the Daily Worker. It helps the paper to
become known as a recognized daily newspaper in
the eyes of many people who have heard of it but
never seen it and are therefore deprived of the

chance of buying the paper. Furthermore, the big-
ger the sales of the Daily Worker the bigger the
chance of breaking the press monopoly of big busi-
ness.

The editors are trying all the time to make the
paper as interesting as possible. For example, an
International Children’s Art Exhibition organized
by the paper some time ago, was generally declared
to be the most successful venture of its kind in
Britain. Paintings and drawings came from chil-
dren in many countries, the exhibition being shown
in London and a number of other cities. The ven-
ture met with such a response that it has been
agreed to organize another exhibition.

Limits on what the paper can or cannot do are
imposed by its small resources. It has four pages
and as yet cannot increase its size or employ a host
of reporters and representatives. But we aim at
producing a newspaper worthy of the traditions of
struggle of the British working class.

One day, let us hope soon, the political conscious-
ness, good will and comradeship engendered in the
struggle of the working class will result in a mass
circulation for the Daily Worker and new mem-
bers of the Communist Party. That is the aim.

George SINFIELD

WORLD MARXIST REVIEW 59

Exchange of Views

The Agrarian Problem and the
National-Liberation Movement

This was the subject of an exchange oj views organized in September 1960, in Havana
(Cuba) and Bucharest (Rumania), under the auspices of the Editorial Board of WORLD
MARXIST REVIEW, the Editors of FUNDAMENTOS, theoretical organ of the Central
Committee of the Popular Socialist Party of Cuba, and the Institute of Economics of the
Rumanian Academy of Sciences. Contributions were made by Marxists from 27 countries:
Abde hamid Boud af, Abdelkader el-Ouahrani (Algeria), J. M. Garcia (Argentina), J. Kolle
(Bolivia), N. Sanmugathasan (Ceylon), J. Ahumada (Chile), G. Vieira, J. Villegas (Co-
lombia), B. Roca, S. Aguirre, A. Regalado, L. Soto (Cuba), F. Havlicek, I. Karlik (Czecho-
slovakia), P. Saad (Ecuador), R. Barbe (France), S. Muench, N. Steinberger (German
Democratic Republic), J. Rodriguez (Guatemala), E. M. S. Namboodiripad (India), Kia-
Nouri (Iran), Aziz Al Hajj (Iraq), D. Tabet, A. Monastero (Italy), S. Sawaya (Lebanon),
A. Bourquia, M. Riffi, M. Ferhat (Morocco), V. Tello (Panama), R. Urquizo (Peru), V.
Malinschi, R. Moldovan, B. Schiopu (Rumania), Kh. Bagdache (Syrian Region of the United
Arab Republic), R. Arismendi (Uruguay), R. Ulyanovsky, M. Danilevich, M. Maximov
(USSR), A. Ojeda (Venezuela) and others. A written contribution was received from
S. Alvarez (Spain).

Those who took part in the meetings, conscious of both the complexity and importance
of the subject which, as yet, has not been adequately elaborated, are hopeful that the
exchange of views will be followed by a systematic, joint discussion in the columns of
our journal.

Commencing with this issue publication (abridged) of the papers read at the sessions,
the Editors invite readers to take part in the discussion which will be continued in subse-
quent numbers.

KH. BAGDACHE
(Syrian Region of the United Arab Republic)

HE national-liberation struggle in Asia, Africa feudal survivals, abolish the poverty and the

and Latin America, supported by the socialist
countries and by the democratic forces throughout
the world, has led to the breakup of the colonial
system. Dozens of new, politically independent
states have emerged, and continue to emerge in
imperialism’s former colonial: domains. But co- !
lonialism is still alive. It is fighting for its exist- i
ence in new ways.

Political sovereignty is but the first step towards
genuine freedom, democracy and social progress
for the countries that have cast off the colonial
yoke. The peoples who have won their freedom
are faced with formidable and interconnected tasks
—to consolidate their political independence and
pursue a national foreign policy of peace; take
the way of democracy and social progress, build
up a national economy through industrialization
and mechanized farming, find a democratic solu-
tion to the agrarian question and do away with

chronic rhalnutrition of their populations—the le-
gacy of imperialist rule—and achieve a rapid rise
in living standards, national culture and public
health.:

The ;solution of the agrarian problem is of the
utmost} importance for the implementation of these
tasks and the further development of each country
that has won political independence. And indeed,
this independence cannot be consolidated unless
there is an independent economy; no industrializa-
tion is possible without a radical solution of the
agrarian question; and genuine democracy and
higher living standards are out of the question
without a developed national economy and the abo-
lition of the remnants of feudal relations.

In solving their national problems the newly-
independent countries are taking different roads.

In those countries where the worker-peasant al-
liance under working-class leadership has been the

60 WORLD MARXIST REVIEW

principal motive force of the revolution the people
are taking the socialist road. Their experience
shows that this revolutionary course ensures a
radical solution of all national problems, including
the agrarian question, in the shortest time and in
the interests of the peasantry and the people as
a whole.

A different situation obtains in those countries
where the bourgeoisie has headed the national-
liberation movement. The bourgeoisie wants de-
velopment along capitalist lines. The class stand-
point of the national bourgeoisie is marked by
indecision and by a tendency to compromise and
concede ground to both the imperialist bourgeoisie
and the feudal lords. All this reflects upon the
economic and social changes, including the agrari-
an reforms that are being effected in these coun-
tries.

A radical solution of the agrarian problem in
present-day conditions means a solution in the
interests of the peasant masses. It presupposes
ending the feudal survivals in the countryside,
ending the exploitation of the peasants by the for-
eign banks, clearing the way for the development
of the productive forces in agriculture, and turn-
ing the land over to the peasants free of charge.
It means, moreover, ridding the peasants of the
scourge of usury and excessive taxation, meeting
their requirements in the matter of seed, water,
technical and other assistance.

A question of cardinal importance to the future
of the newly-independent countries and to the prac-
tical activities of the Communist parties is this: is
the national bourgeoisie in the underdeveloped
countries capable of carrying out a radical agrarian
reform?

Kh. Bagdache replies by turning to the experi-
ence of the United Arab Republic, to the agrarian
relations and the agrarian reform in Egypt and
in Syria.

Before the agrarian reform in Egypt 12,000 feu-
dal proprietors and landlords owned one-third, or
nearly 2,000,000 feddans*, of the cultivated land,
some 2,000,000 peasant families with plots of less
than one feddan owned about 13 per cent of the
land, while several million peasant families had
no land at all. Prior to the land reform in Syria,
a little over 7,000 feudal beys held more than
3,000,000 hectares of the non-irrigated land, while
about three-quarters of the irrigated land or some
400,000 hectares were held by approximately 1,600
landowners. The peasants owned only 20 per cent
of the cultivated land.

Here are the principal features of the agrarian
reform law promulgated in Egypt in 1952 and
enacted, with some amendments, in Syria in 1958:
the big feudal estates are restricted, but not

"1 feddan—0.42 hectares.

abolished (the law restricts land holdings in Egypt
to 135 hectares, and in Syria—to 460 hectares of
non-irrigated land and 120 hectares of irrigated
land); the purchase price paid by peasants for the
plots they are given approximates the market price
of land; they are obliged to join the co-operative
societies directed by government officials whose
main functions are collecting taxes and the instal-
ments due for the land and the purchasing of
seed and fertilizer.

Comrade Bagdache assessed the agrarian re-
forms carried out in Egypt and Syria as follows.

1, The reform has restricted ownership by land-
lords and has reduced somewhat, especially in
Egypt, the political influence of the feudal lords.
However, the large compensation paid to the land-
lords has cut their economic losses to the minimum.
The class of landlords has not been abolished, it
has become the ally of the ruling bourgeoisie with
whom it has joined forces in the struggle against
a democratic solution to the agrarian question
and against the democratic movement in the
country.

2. The big bourgeoisie has profited most from
the land reform in Egypt. Additional capital has
been invested in industry and the banks. Greater
opportunities have opened up for capitalist develop-
ment in the countryside in Egypt and Syria.

3. Those who have gained least are the peasants,
in whose name the reforms were supposed to
have been made. In effect, the agrarian question
has not been solved and by and large the feudal
survivals remain. The rural bourgeoisie also gain-
ed to a certain extent. Its economic growth will,
undoubtedly, intensify the exploitation of the farm
laborers and the poor and middle peasants and
lead to further differentiation among and impover-
ishment of the peasantry.

4. The reform has been utilized in the struggle
against the democratic forces. In Syria it is being
used as a lever for the economic and political
expansion of the Egyptian bourgeoisie. In view
of this, the government’s concessions to the Syrian
feudal lords are especially significant.

Thus, the experience of the UAR shows that
the national bourgeoisie, because of its duality
and contradictory nature, is incapable of solving
the agrarian question. Though this bourgeoisie is
interested, both from the standpoint of theory and
practice, in abolishing the remnants of feudalism
which stand in the way of a national economy
and expansion of the home market, it has, for
political reasons, chosen the road of compromise
with the feudal lords in agrarian matters. Satis-
fied by the measures taken to restrict feudal own-
ership and the political privileges of the landlords,
it is not pressing for the abolition of the feudal
beys as a class. The bourgeoisie is reluctant to

WORLD MARXIST REVIEW 61

strike a decisive blow against feudal ownership
of the land. It fears the revolutionary consequences
of any encroachment on the “sacred’’ principle
of private property. Besides, it often seeks the
support of the beys in its struggle against the
peasant movement and against the democratic
movement generally. An important factor here is
that many of the national bourgeoisie in the UAR,
as in other underdeveloped countries, are large
landowners.

The experience of the United Arab Republic
shows the fallacy of the claim that any agrarian
reform in the newly-liberated countries, if it makes
inroads on the privileges of the feudal beys and
landlords and somewhat restricts feudal property,
is automatically and in all circumstances accom-
panied by an extension of democracy and is a
positive factor in the struggle against imperialism
and political reaction. When the Right wing of
the national bourgeoisie attains greater power in
governing the country, the agrarian reform meas-
ures are used for purposes of unbridled social
demagogy, for crushing the masses and strangling
the democratic movement. These reactionary cir-
cles try to split the national anti-imperialistic
front, to prevent any alliance between the working
class and the peasantry. It is no accident that the
imperialists support the measures aimed at im-
posing certain restrictions on feudal property and
at increasing the number of prosperous landowners.
This is what happened in the United Arab Re-
public.

The national bourgeoisie will always try to carry
out agrarian reforms mainly at the expense of
the peasantry, in order to strengthen its own eco-
nomic and political positions and, at the same time,
to hinder the growth of a democratic movement.
However, its degree of success in pursuing these
aims will depend on the scale of the pressure
exerted by the masses to secure realization of
these bourgeois measures in a way that will be
of maximum benefit to the people and the demo-
cratic movement.

However, it would be just as wrong to say that
any agrarian reform, not radical and carried out
under capitalism, is necessarily and in all circum-
stances a measure that cannot aid the democratic
movement. Given a broad national democratic
front in which the working class, united with the
peasantry, plays an important part, and which
embraces the progressive elements of the national
bourgeoisie and the urban petty bourgeoisie, and
provided this front is able to influence policy, then
the solution of the agrarian problem, as of other
political, economic and social problems, will be
a democratic solution. And even if it should be
incomplete, this solution will, nevertheless, under-
mine the foundations of feudal property, further
the growth of a national and democratic move-

ment and pave the way to a final and just solution
of the agrarian question in the interests of the
peasantry.

The working class is vitally interested in eman-
cipating the peasants fully and completely, in en-
suring prosperity for them. Experience teaches
that the working class is the powerful and true
ally of the peasantry, and that success in the
struggle for the emancipation of the workers and
peasants depends on their unity and on the strength
of their alliance under working-class leadership.

The stand of the working class and its vanguard
in respect of any agrarian reform depends on the
conditions obtaining at the given time and place.
But the chief criteria are always the same: will
the particular reform further the growth of the
democratic movement and strengthen the patriotic
forces in their struggle against imperialism and
reaction? Will it add to the peasants’ fighting po-
tential in the struggle against the feudal beys and
strengthen the alliance of the working class and
the masses of the peasantry?

The national bourgeoisie, especially its Right
wing, wants to strengthen its position by effecting
limited agrarian reforms, to disrupt the democra-
tic movement and isolate the working class from
the peasantry; the proletariat, however, wants the
opposite, and it is quite possible that the outcome
will not be that desired by the bourgeoisie. Much
will depend on the attitude of the working class
and its vanguard—the Communist Party—on their
ability to frustrate the designs of the bourgeoisie,
develcp the democratic movement, reinforce the
worker-peasant alliance and isolate above all the
Right wing of the national bourgeoisie.

The attitude of the working class and the peas-
ant masses on the agrarian question is expressed
by the Communist Party. Ever since its inception
the Syrian Communist Party has never regarded
this problem as being something distinct from
the other tasks confronting the people in their
struggle for national independence and liberation.

The Communist Party, which has always insisted
on a radical agrarian reform, is the only force
that has fought for the complete abolition of the
feudal survivals in agriculture.

In the struggle against imperialism and feudal-
ism the farm laborers and the poor peasantry—
the sharecroppers and peasants owning patches
too small to maintain the family — are the main
force in the countryside in Syria. The poor peas-
ants, the majority in the villages, are vitally inter-
ested in the carrying out of a radical agrarian
reform, in destroying the feudal survivais and in
social progress.

These peasant masses are the trusted and irre-
placeable ally of the urban proletariat in the
struggle against imperialism and feudalism, for na-

62 WORLD MARXIST REVIEW

tional independence, democracy and socialism. They
are the main rural social force on which the
Communist Party relies. Success in drawing other
sections of the peasantry, especially the middle
peasants, into the general democratic struggle
depends on the level of political consciousness dis-
played by the poor peasants and on their organiza-
tion and their willingness to make common cause
with the urban workers.

The middle peasants, also a considerable force,
are likewise interested in a radical agrarian re-
form. And one of the most important tasks of
the Syrian democratic movement is to draw the
middle peasants into the struggle as an ally of
the rural poor.

As to the rural bourgeoisie—its position is a
twofold one: it wants to abolish the privileges of
the feudal proprietors but in a way that would
enable it to replace the feudals in the countryside
and intensify the exploitation of the farm laborers
and poor peasants. Still, it is possible and worth-
while to take common action with a part of the
rural bourgeoisie, both locally and on a national
scale, especially on particular issues. It is most
important not to confuse the rural bourgeoisie with
the feudal landlords, as is often done.

To meet the requirements of Syrian society, and
having the interests of the vast majority of the
peasantry and of the people at heart, the Syrian
Communist Party proposes in its draft platform
the following basic demands for a radical solution
of the agrarian question:

—confiscation without compensation of the feudal
estates and the land of the big proprietors and
their distribution gratis among the landless peas-
antry and those whose plots are insufficient to
provide for the family;

—confiscation of all implements of cultivation at
present in the hands of the feudal beys and big
landed proprietors and their transfer to peasant
committees for use in the interests of the work-
ing peasants;

—the peasants to be enabled to participate,
through democratically elected peasant committees,
in carrying out all the agrarian reform measures,
especially in confiscating and distributing the land;

—io increase agricultural output and raise the
peasant standard of living, the state should pro-
vide the working peasants who obtain land as a
result of the reform and also the small and middle
peasants with everything needed for cultivation:
seed, fertilizer, farm machinery, chemicals, etc.;

—proper use of the rivers and lakes by building
dams and a ramified network of canals in order
to increase the area of irrigated land, raise the
level of production and rid the peasantry forever
of drought and crop failure;

—aid to the peasants in forming free and volun-
tary co-operatives of different types and at differ-
ent levels. These co-operatives, organized demo-
cratically, should be managed by elected commit-
tees; the peasants should be guaranteed the right
to leave the co-operatives at any moment;

—the peasants must be freed from exploitation
by foreign banks and trusts and from the yoke of
money-lenders and middlemen, in particular by
providing them with low-interest credits;

—democratic liberties to be guaranteed in the
countryside (freedom of speech, press, assembly,
demonstrations, etc.);

—the necessary measures should be taken in the
field of public health, cultural and social services
and road building, the technical level of farming
should be raised, etc.

Implementation of this platform would emanci-
pate the peasants from feudal survivals and from
the remnants of colonialism, would free the pro-
ductive forces, especially those in the countryside,
from their medieval fetters and further the devel-
opment of the country along democratic lines.

The means with which to implement a radical
agrarian reform are: firm alliance of the workers,
peasants and all the democratic forces under the
leadership of the working class; a determined
struggle on the part of all democrats against
imperialism, feudalism and other reactionary forces
for a genuinely national-democratic regime and a
genuinely people’s government. While the Syrian
Communist Party insists on a radical solution to
the agrarian problem, it has always fought and
will continue to fight for the satisfaction of the
partial demands of the peasants.

For this reason, therefore, in the conditions now
obtaining, when even the inadequate law promul-
gated in September 1958 is everywhere distorted
and evaded in favor of the feudal proprietors,
when the peasants are experiencing terrible hard-
ships from hunger and from the anti-democratic
regime, the Communist Party calls on the peasant
masses and on all democratic forces to unite in
the struggle for their immediate demands:

—implementation of the agrarian reform law of
September 28, 1958; against any infringement and
abuse of the law in favor of the feudal beys, the
law to be amended in order to reduce by half
the compensation paid by the peasants for the
land received from the feudal beys; a term of
50 years to be enforced for paying the reduced
compensation instead of the present 30 years; the
peasantry to be exempted from additional pay-
ments (reimbursement for expenditure connected
with the reform and interest on the bonds issued
to the landowners);

WORLD MARXIST REVIEW 63

—the peasant masses, through their elected com-
mittees, to supervise the carrying out of the re-
form;

—since the majority of the big estates in the
non-irrigated areas in Jezire, Euphrates and other
districts in the neighborhood of the deserts where
the soil is poor and the rainfall meagre cannot
be cultivated if they are broken up into tiny
plots, the reform in these districts should take
place in one of the following ways: either the
estates should become state property and be culti-
vated by modern methods, or they should be made
into big co-operative farms enjoying state aid—
credits, machinery and whatever else is needed,
on favorable terms;

—the part paid to sharecroppers working on
feudal lands should be increased;

—no peasant to be evicted from his land;

—urgent and effective measures to save the popu-
lation of all the famine areas from hunger and
acute water shortage;

—wage increases and better conditions for agri-
cultural laborers, who should be allowed to form
trade unions and guaranteed the right to strike;

—the agricultural co-operatives envisaged by the
agrarian reform law should not be subject to ad-
ministrative tutelage on the part of the state; the
co-operatives should be organized democratically
and the peasants should be free to join them or
not as they wish;

—realization in the immediate future of the
agreements concluded between the Syrian Repub-
lic and the Soviet Union in 1957 providing for the
building of dams and other irrigation installations,
the building of a fertilizer plant and an_ extensive
network of railways linking the main agricultural
districts with the port of Latakia;

—annullment of the arbitrary measures of the
Cairo government prohibiting or restricting the
cultivation of the traditional Syrian crops (rice
and cotton, for example);

—agriculture and the peasants in Syria to be
freed from exploitation by money-lenders and for-
eign banks such as the French-owned Bank of
Syria and the Lebanon, and also by Egyptian
banks such as the Bank al-Misr. For this purpose
the activities of the Syrian State Agricultural Bank
should be extended and the bank should grant
loans not only to big landowners but also to
peasants at a minimum interest rate.

The struggle of the Syrian peasants for satis-
faction of their demands is a part of the struggle
waged by all Syrians for national independence
and for emancipation from the colonial oppression
of the Egyptian big bourgeoisie.

The experience of the nearly three years that
have passed since the formation of the UAR has
taught the peasants and all Syrians that the union
imposed on them has no sound basis, that the
policy of the Cairo government is playing havoc
with the slogan of Arab unity and Arab national-
ism; this slogan is being utilized to push Egyptian
nationalism, which is the embodiment of the expan-
sionist and jingoistic features of the Egyptian big
bourgeoisie. The way out of the present situation
is through the creation of a front of the workers
and peasants, the progressive national bourgeoisie,
youth, students, women—of all patriots and demo-
crats—for the purpose of waging struggle for a
radical revision of the fundamental principles un-
derlying the union, for liberation from Egyptian
colonialism, for a genuine policy of national libera-
tion, for peace and democracy.

SEVERO AGUIRRE
(Cuba)

HE Cuban revolution is taking the country
along the highway of national development,
with the revolutionary government solving the No.
1 problem—agrarian reform. Before the January
revolution the Cuban countryside, where more than
half the population lives, presented a truly terrible
picture. A few North American imperialist com-
panies and local latifundists had a monopoly of
the land; aligned against them were the vast mass
of peasants with little or no land, and the agri-
cultural laborers who were employed for only
three or four months a year (during the sugar
season).
According to the 1946 agriculture census, Cuba
had in all 159,958 farms covering a total area of

676,365 caballerias (a caballeria is about 33 acres).
Of these farms 62,500, or 39 per cent of the overall
number, had a mere 22,112 caballerias among
them, i.e., 3.3 per cent of the total. On the other
hand, 884 large estates—0.5 per cent of all the
farms—accounted for 243,003 caballerias, that is,
36 per cent of all the land. All in all, the latifundia
accounted for 47 per cent of the whole land area.
North American companies, furthermore, owned
110,000 caballerias.

The fact that the imperialist companies and lati-
fundists had a monopoly of the land was one of
the major reasons for the unemployment in the
country, the low incomes and the low purchasing
power not only of the peasants and farm laborers

64 WORLD MARXIST REVIEW

but of most of the working people in the towns.
All in all, latifundism was detrimental to the na-
tion. Only by carrying through a radical land
reform could the home market be enlarged and
the national industry expanded .

From its very inception our Party has devoted
close attention to the poor in the countryside
and to the agrarian problem generally, the solution
of which it linked with the anti-imperialist and
national-liberation struggle. The Party regarded
a radical and far-reaching land reform, which
would abolish the latifundia and transfer the land
free of charge to those who till it, as a necessary
measure for the good of the peasants and farm
laborers and of the nation as a whole.

Frightened by the upsurge of the peasant move-
ment which began in 1933, the bourgeois and lati-
fundist politicians promised all kinds of “‘agrarian”
plans and declared themselves the “‘emancipators”
of the peasants. Yet none of these plans or the
measures they proposed were aimed at really solv-
ing the problem. As far back as the ’thirties, our
Party pointed out that any genuine land reform
should pursue two basic aims: abolish the latifundia
and transfer the land gratis to the peasants and
the farm laborers. The plans and measures
advanced by the politicians in the service of the
imperialist companies, latifundists and bourgeoisie
had only one object: to preserve the latifundia,
dupe the peasants and perpetuate their slavery.
They envisaged land purchase on the instalment
system, land settlement and the division of gov-
ernment-owned land, although this land had either
already been handed over to the imperialist com-
panies, or else the latter and “‘influential people”
had grabbed it. The bourgeoisie proved incapable of
initiating the agrarian reform of which Cuba stood
in need—a radical land reform similar to the one
being carried through now.

The fight for a genuine agrarian reform was
supported by the farm laborers, the poor and
middle peasants, the working class and other work-
ing people in the towns, the small urban bourgeoi-
sie and those sections of the national bourgeoisie
not associated with the land and interested in
developing a national industry.

In the struggle against the tyranny the united
front established by the Party even included forces
who were associated with some groups of the laiti-
fundists opposed to the Batista government. These
provisional agreements envisaged immediate action
against the tyranny. The Party’s propaganda and
struggle, however, always included the demand
for an agrarian reform that would abolish the lati-
fundia. This slogan did not figure in the above-
mentioned agreements, but it held first place in
the Party’s propaganda and this enabled us to
establish still closer contact with the peasant mass-

es and farm laborers and facilitated unity of action
with other revolutionary forces favoring a genuine
agrarian reform. The demand for a deep-going land
reform could not be sacrificed to provisional agree-
ments.

The Party’s efforts brought home to the peasants,
workers and the people as a whole the basic need
for land reform. Even when times were most diffi-
cult, when persecution was rife and the Party
illegal, it continued propaganda for reform among
the peasants, other working people and the revo-
lutionary forces. In joining the armed struggle,
the peasants and farm laborers proceeded primar-
ily from the conviction that in winning freedom
they would win land. “I shall not put my rifle
down,” the peasant rebel declared, “until the
land issue has been settled. For land means free-
dom.’’ Poor peasants and farm laborers make up
eighty per cent of the Rebel Army.

Our Party worked hard to unionize the farm
workers and to bring the poor and middle peas-
ants into committees of struggle and peasants
associations. For a number of years these associa-
tions proved to be one of the most suitable means
of creating a revolutionary consciousness among
the peasants and of disseminating the idea of
agrarian reform. The Batista terror broke up many
of these associations but could not eradicate the
militancy which they sowed among the peasants.
On the initiative of the partisan command and
with its support, even more militant peasant asso-
ciations were organized in the liberated regions
and effectively helped the armed struggle. The
peasant associations now functioning all over the
country are playing an extremely important part
in the agrarian reform and in defending the revo-
lution.

What are the basic features of the Agrarian Re-
form Law proclaimed by the revolutionary govern-
ment on May 17, 1959? This law abolishes the lati-
fundia; it fixes the maximum size of a land holding
at 30 caballerias. The law prohibits land from
being acquired or even inherited by non-Cubans.
All land exceeding the maximum fixed by law is
distributed among the peasants, farm laborers
and soldiers of the Rebel Army. The law prohibits
sharecropping, or any other form of rent in kind,
and turns into owners all peasants who have suf-
fered under this system. This means that the most
widespread and deeply rooted of the feudal sur-
vivals in Cuba has been eradicated. Tenants who
had plots of up to two caballerias are given land
free of charge. Peasants who had more than two
but less than five caballerias are given two gratis
and purchase the remainder at a price fixed by
the National Agrarian Reform Institute (INRA)
in accordance with the value assessed by the own-
ers on registering their property. Tenants who
rented more than five caballerias do not obtain

{

i

WORLD MARXIST REVIEW 65

the land gratis but are entitled to purchase up
to 30 caballerias of the land formerly rented by
them. Land passing into personal ownership is
registered in the peasant’s name in property regis-
tration books. Land which becomes common prop-
erty is registered under the heading of property
not subject to distribution among the members of
the given association.

The new law encourages the peasants and farm
laborers to unite in co-operatives for joint culti-
vation. These co-operatives are new to Cuba, and
two types are now being set up.* Co-operatives
of the first and broader type are being established
on the latifundia lands. Their members consist of
farm laborers, poor peasants, who formerly rented
land or worked as sharecroppers, and landless
peasants who had been driven off their plots. Some
620 of these co-operatives, uniting 120,000 members
and 80,000 seasonal workers, have been established
on estates growing sugar cane. A plan now under
way will turn the co-operatives into mixed farms
in order to provide work for members all the
year round and to encourage the seasonal workers
to join the co-operatives. Another type of co-opera-
tives is being formed by poor peasants for the
purpose of doing certain kinds of work, or of
ploughing up field boundaries and engaging in
joint cultivation. More than a thousand co-opera-
tive is being formed by poor peasants for the
reform. The output of co-operatives of both types
is now quite considerable, accounting for over 50
per cent of the total production of sugar cane.
There are as yet few co-operatives with members
who owned land before the agrarian reform. For
understandable reasons peasants are hesitant about
joining the co-operatives, and we are conducting
painstaking work among them, basing it on the
principle of persuasion.

The Agrarian Reform Law is, then, anti-feudal
and anti-imperialist; it is spearheaded against the
class of latifundists (both foreign and native) whose
lands are being expropriated and who, as a class,
are disappearing from the scene, against the ab-
sentee landlords**, irrespective of the size of their
farms, for the land becomes the- property of those
who till it, against the compradores and usurers,
because credit, increasingly, is supplied by INRA.
This body will also be authorized to purchase
the produce of the peasants and the co-operatives,
thereby preventing their being fleeced and elimi-
nating profiteering when the goods are re-purch-
ased, and guaranteeing fair prices to peasant and
consumer alike. By abolishing the latifundia the
Agrarian Reform Law will help to develop a mixed
agriculture. It is aimed, too, against the big im-
porters and the North American companies which

*For further details see World Marxist Review No. 8 —
Severo Aguirre’s letter on the achievements of agrarian
reform,

**Landlords who rent their land.—Ed.

have waxed rich because of our backward farming
and economic dependence on foreign countries.

These are the classes and the groups—and they
are in the minority—whose interests suffer through
the operation of the Reform Law. On the other
hand, the poor and middle peasants and a con-
siderable number of the rich peasants, as well as
the working class, gain from it. No longer are
farm workers exploited—as members of co-opera-
tives they are masters of the land. The industrial
expansion means more employment for factory
workers. Office workers, technicians of all kinds,
professionals, handicraftsmen and Cuban _indus-
trialists also gain from the Agrarian Reform Law.

The working class, the poor and the middle
peasants, and the radical petty bourgeoisie are
solidly behind the reform. It is also supported,
although less enthusiastically, by some sections of
the rich peasants and of the national bourgeoisie.
The bourgeoisie would prefer the reform to be a
less radical one. Moreover, fear of the proletariat
and of the deep-going social changes now being
effected with the help of the worker-peasant alli-
ance does not evoke enthusiasm among the bour-
geoisie.

The Agrarian Reform Law is being implemented
consistently and in a_ revolutionary spirit. All
farms passing into the possession of peasants free
of charge no longer pay rent, irrespective of
whether the title deeds have been handed over or
not. In point of fact, on INRA orders, the peasant
becomes the owner of the land the moment he
ceases to pay rent. In the first year of the agrarian
reform INRA invested over 131 million pesos in
agriculture, the funds being used for the purchase
of machinery, seed, fertilizers, and chemical weed-
and-pest killers, the ploughing of the virgin soil,
the granting of credits to co-operatives and indi-
vidual peasants, for irrigation systems, buildings,
stores, dwellings, schools, hospitals and roads.

The agrarian reform is changing life in the vil-
lages. It has broken down the semi-feudal struc-
ture which rested on the latifundia, the oppression
and exploitation of peasants and farm workers
by the imperialist companies and absentee land-
lords. The social composition of the rural popula-
tion is changing and new production relations are
coming into being. The economic and, hence, poli-
tical might of the latifundist class has been broken
and the class itself is being abolished. The peas-
ants and farm laborers are now the masters of
the land and with increasing help from the state
can, in the near future, organize into co-operatives
in order to farm better. Before them lies the
road to a new life.

With the implementation of agrarian reform,
state farms—mostly cattle-breeding, rice production
and poultry raising—have appeared. Three forms

66 WORLD MARXIST REVIEW

of agricultural production obtain at present: the
co-operative, state and individual. The individual
sector is comprised of the farms of poor, middle
and rich peasants, and landlords. Individual farm-
ing will continue for some time to come, but it
has no prospects and will decline. Factors con-
tributing to this will be the steady growth of the
share of the agricultural workers co-operatives and
state farms in the volume of national production
and the change that will take place in the outlook
of the poor and middle peasants—all of which will
encourage greater numbers to join the co-opera-
tives. The deep-going changes in the countryside
open up great opportunities for industrial develop-
ment which has already begun thanks to the aid
given by the Soviet Union, the Chinese People’s
Republic, the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic, the
German Democratic Republic and other socialist
countries.

The Cuban people’s struggle shows that it would
have been impossible to carry through a radical
agrarian reform in the country or to advance
even a step along the path of independent eco-
nomic development had we not overthrown the
reactionary classes—the latifundists and the bour-
geoisie—whose interests were tied up with those
of North American imperialism and who thrived
on imperialist oppression. Progress would likewise
have been out of the question had the revolution,
at its present stage of national liberation, been led
by those sections of the bourgeoisie who, although
they have some contradictions with the imperial-
ists, nevertheless seek to solve them by coming to
terms with the imperialists at the expense of the
working class, the peasantry, and the national
interests. Only on the basis of an alliance between
the working class and the poor and middle

peasantry and the radical, i.e., revolutionary, cir-
cles of the small bourgeoisie in the towns, can
these national and anti-imperialist tasks be carried
out. In this the working class, headed by its Party,
plays the decisive role. But working-class leader-
ship is not achieved by making general declara-
tions. It is won by pursuing a correct line, by
conducting persistent and patient work among the
masses and the leaders of the democratic trends,
by combating Leftist and Rightist mistakes.

In these conditions the national bourgeoisie can
play a positive part in anti-feudal and anti-im-
perialist struggle. But our experience tells us that
we must be vigilant, alert to the self-seeking con-
ciliatory tendencies of the bourgeoisie. In most
Latin American countries the bourgeoisie are talk-
ing about the need for agrarian reform. But com-
mon to their plans for the reform is the desire not
to fall out with the imperialists and the latifundist
semi-feudals; not to break up the semi-feudal lati-
fundia but to turn them into capitalist farms; to
find a new way of enslaving the peasants by sell-
ing them land on the instalment system and per-
petuating the exploitation of the farm laborers on
semi-feudal estates converted into capitalist farms.
The implementation of a reform of this kind (which
the bourgeoisie believes to be the ‘‘only possible”’
one) would enable it to head the peasant movement
and the national-liberation movement as a whole
and this would be fraught with dire consequences
for our people. We in Cuba, together with all the
revolutionary anti-feudal and anti-imperialist forces,
are fighting not for a “‘possible” agrarian reform,
but for a reform that is essential for the peasants
and the country as a whole. The outcome of this
struggle in Cuba is plain for all to see.

A. BOUDIAF
(Algeria)

HE national-liberation movement in Algeria is
at its greatest momentum; the people are
waging an armed anti-imperialist and anti-feudal
struggle. During the six years of war the National
Liberation Army has grown into a powerful revo-
lutionary force. It has been tempered in battle,
repelling the assaults of the 600,000-strong regular
French troops and the 200,000-strong auxiliary units
of the republican security forces, territorial militia
and gendarmes.

Eighty per cent of the population are peasants
who constitute the main body of the National Lib-
eration Army. A big part in the revolutionary army
since its inception has been played by the poor
peasants and agricultural workers. It was the
poor peasants who assisted the military and _ poli-

tical leaders in spreading the flames of revolution-
ary struggle to the countryside. Knowing well who
are friends and who are enemies they helped the
rebel leaders to lead the friends and to isolate
the enemy. Thanks to their efforts a_ military
organization has been established in the country-
side.

The agricultural workers travel under cover of
darkness to the headquarters of local revolutionary
organizations, carry out the operations entrusted
to them and collect information about the move-
ments of the enemy. For its fighting efficiency the
National Liberation Army owes much to their
knowledge of the locality and to their valor. Since
the first days of the war the agricultural workers
have collected food for the army.

WORLD MARXIST REVIEW 67

The middle peasants attached to their plots
also support the liberation struggle though they
are not as devoted to the revolution as the poor
peasants and agricultural workers. They regularly
supply the National Liberation Army with food,
giving it part of their crop, clothing and medical
supplies, and placing their homes at the disposal of
the revolutionary soldiers.

Rich peasants, numerically few in Algeria, also
support the revolutionary struggle. Those who have
refused to do so, have been isolated and neutral-
ized.

Since the first days of the insurrection the main
burden, naturally, has been borne by the peasants.
The liberation struggle could not have been con-
tinued without their participation and tremendous
sacrifice. This explains the malicious attacks of
the enemy against the peasants. The French colo-
nialists have not only destroyed hundreds of thous-
ands of peasants physically, they have in addition
forced many to change their habitation, the conse-
quences of which it is as yet difficult to foresee.

The working class, though small numerically,
exerts a great influence on the revolution. Handi-
craftsmen, intellectuals, urban and rural workers
were the first to go to the ‘“‘maquis.’’ Around
them the revolutionary forces have been rallied.

Along with the political and ideological contribu-
tion which the Algerian workers have made to the
revolution by their participation in the war of
independence, they have played the vanguard role
as a Class thanks to the Communist Party, their
own organization. At the beginning of the revolu-
tion the General Trade Union Alliance, which is
inspired by the Communists, organized mass
strikes as part of the national struggle. Each
successive action embraced larger numbers of peo-
ple and added to the scope of the liberation move-
ment.

The small bourgeoisie, by virtue of the extreme
weakness of the big national bourgeoisie, has play-
ed an important part in the revolution. In the
past it supplied most of the functionaries for the
nationalist parties. The economic position and rela-
tively high cultural level of the small bourgeoisie
enable it to maintain contact with the workers and
peasants among whom they wield considerable in-
fluence.

To obtain a clearer idea of the correlation of
forces in Algeria it is necessary to point to some
of the specific features of the colonization of the
country. Unlike Morocco and Tunisia, Algeria was
the country to which large numbers emigrated from
France and other Mediterranean ‘countries. The

settlers received from the colonial administration
millions of hectares that had been stolen from
the Algerian peasants.

The peasants, driven from their homesteads, eked
out a precarious livelihood in the mountains and
in sun-parched areas. Statistics of the colonial
administration show that 630,732 Algerian land-
owners hold about 7,349,000 hectares distributed as
follows:

105,954 farms have a total of 37,200 hectares, i.e.,
less than one hectare each

332,529 farms have a total of 1,341,200 hectares, i.e.,
one to 10 hectares each

167,170 farms have a total of 3,185,000 hectares, i.e.,
from 10 to 50 hectares each

16,580 farms have a total of 1,096,100 hectares, i.e.,
from 50 to 100 hectares each

8,499 farms have a total of 1,688,800 hectares, i.e.,
over 100 hectares each..

A point to be noted is that among the holdings
in excess of 100 hectares there are beys who own
thousands of hectares. Still more eloquent are the
figures showing the distribution of land among the
settlers. Over 22,000 European farms embrace a
total of 2,726,700 hectares of which 2,381,900, or 87
per cent, belong to 6,385 big landlords.

According to available data there are 160,000
permanent and 400,000 seasonal agricultural work-
ers. Many of these go to France in search of a
livelihood. At a press conference in June 1960,
de Gaulle spoke about the 400,000 Algerian work-
ers in France; with undisguised cynicism he listed
this as being to the credit of colonialism.

In the Algerian countryside there is yet another
group known as khammés. The khammés, being
landless, is forced into sharecropping. He leases a
plot from the landlord and the latter as a rule
supplies him with seed and implements. Under
the rent agreement the khammés receives one-
fifth of the crop. He lives in abject poverty and
in the lean years he often falls into debt to the
landlord. The statistics of the colonial administra-
tion offer a highly contradictory picture. According
to the 1948 census the khammés numbered 132,-
913 but by 1954 the figure had dropped to 60,563.

The tctal annual income of 2,573,504 Algerians
amounts to 86,604 million old francs, while that of
the European settlers (1/73 of the population) is
nearly 110,000 million.

Before the rebellion against the colonialists
(1954) the nationalist parties displayed little con-
cern for the peasants. The Communist Party, on
the other hand, began to organize the peasants
and agricultural laborers the moment it emerged
from the underground. The Communists organized
the peasants in trade unions. The agricultural la-
borers have been brought into the General Con-
federation of Labor. In many regions the unions
have often taken successful action in support of
the peasant demands and of democratic rights.

68 WORLD MARXIST REVIEW

Our Party has its own organizations in the country-
side.

In addition to fighting for the demands of the
peasants the Communists worked to deepen their
political consciousness, to prepare them, in the
course of the everyday action, for a higher form
of the anti-imperialist and anti-feudal struggle.

The political consciousness and political organi-
zation of the poor peasants, who form the main
body of the revolutionary army, now at a high level
generally, are particularly developed in those re-
gions where our Party has its own organizations.

Our Party has widely propagated the slogan of
agrarian reform. This slogan is now so popular
among the peasants that the de Gaulle govern-
ment has had to promise that 250,000 hectares will
be divided among the rural population.

The six years of the armed struggle have demon-
strated that the Algerian revolution is anti-imperi-
alist and anti-feudal, and that national independ-
ence and agrarian reform are its basic demands.

To formulate the program of agrarian reforms
properly it is necessary to examine the conditions
of the peasants. Before the rebellion our Party had
no opportunity to do this. At present, in the hard
conditions of the war, it is not an easy matter to
examine this question thoroughly.

The agrarian reform, clearly, should have the
following aims:

1. Abolition of the economic base of French land
settlement — the biggest obstacle to the political,
economic and social emancipation of the Algerian
people.

2. Elimination of the survivals of the feudal sys-
tem which has already been undermined. Although
the national movement and the liberation struggle
have partly neutralized the feudal beys they, nev-
ertheless, may raise their heads again and en-
deavor to gain political positions in an independent
Algeria.

3. Raise the peasant standard of living by releas-
ing the immense productive forces latent in the
countryside.

4. Create favorable conditions for industrializa-
tion by extending the home market which is essen-
tial for the development of national industry.

Such are the aims of the agrarian reform.

To set forth the points of the agrarian reform
clearly and to carry it out in the proper way it
iS necessary to indicate the contradictions which
still exist in the Algerian countryside.

The main contradiction is between the Algerian
peasantry as a whole and the European landlords.

Others include those:

—between the poor peasants and the Algerian
landowners who exploit wage labor or lease land
to the khamméses;

—between the poor and middle peasants and
the Algerian big landowners;

—between the small and middle European set-
tlers, on the one hand, and the big settlers and
companies, on the other. (Among the small settlers
there are some who own less than one hectare.)

But the national struggle before 1954 and espe-
cially the national-liberation war have relegated to
the background and even eased these secondary
contradictions. The well-to-do and middle peasants
tended to line up with the revolutionary forces,
while the settlers with the small plots, deceived
by the imperialist propaganda, gravitated to the
settlers owning large farms.

The purpose of the agrarian reform is to solve
the basic contradiction. The secondary contradic-
tions will, wherever possible, be taken into ac-
count, provided this does not prejudice the alliance
of all classes, with the exception of the feudal beys
who have sided with the colonialists.

Our Party

—relies for support on the agricultural laborers,
on the khamméses, on the poor and middle peas-
ants—the lower strata of the peasantry;

—it will pursue the policy of alliance with the
upper strata of the middle peasants, with those
of the rich peasants and landlords who are loyal
to the national cause (in this category there are
from 20,000 to 22,000 farms);

—it will seek to isolate the big feudal landowners
many of whom have joined with the colonialists.
Their land will be confiscated without compensa-
tion. But among the feudal landowners there are
those who, adopting the policy of wait-and-see, are
playing a double game—they send their sons to
the National Liberation Army and give material
aid to the revolution. In regard to this group
matters are more complicated and should be
resolved by the peasant organizations themselves
which in each case may fix the scale of compen-
sation. Here it is necessary to make a distinction
between the feudal beys and the middle and rich
peasants who practice feudal methods of exploita-
tion (leasing land to the khamméses);

—it should work to win over the European set-
tlers who have been deceived by the enemy; they
should not be excluded from the lists of those who
are entitled to receive land under the agrarian
reform;

—it should neutralize the middle-class settler
without taking away his land which is but an in-
significant part of the total scheduled for distribu-
tion under the agrarian reform.

In our view, the land to be confiscated without
compensation and distributed among the peasants
is:

— FP

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WORLD MARXIST REVIEW 69

—land owned by the big European settlers and
by the big companies; the property of those Al-
gerian beys and big landowners who have betray-
ed the revolution and who are collaborating with
the French colonialists; the state-owned and com-
munal land; the plots leased by the colonial admin-
istration and the land which at one time belonged
to religious bodies but which was taken away from
them by the colonial administration.

The holdings of those Algerian landowners and
feudal beys who have remained loyal to the revo-
lution will be reduced through the redemption of
surplus land.

It is necessary to envisage also the expropriation
of all the means of production owned by the big
settlers, companies, and by the feudal beys and
Algerian landowners who have betrayed the na-
tional interests, and the transfer to the peasants
of the credit societies, producer co-operatives and
the co-operatives buying and selling agricultural
produce, and processing raw material (tobacco,
cotton, tomatoes, etc.).

The expropriated land (with all attached prop-
erty) shall be distributed free of charge among:

—agricultural laborers, khamméses and _ poor
peasants; those who fought in the ranks of the
National Liberation Army or worked in the auxil-
iary organizations, and the widows and families
of peasants who fell in the war of liberation;

—middle peasants suffering from a shortage of
land; priority will be extended to those who served
in the ranks of the National Liberation Army and
also to the widows and families of the men who
fell in the war of liberation;

—the small European settlers suffering from
exploitation by the big settlers and from a shortage
of land. Priority will be accorded to those who
supported the liberation struggle.

Confiscation and distribution of the land will be
carried out in all regions with the obligatory par-
ticipation of committees composed of peasant rep-
resentatives, particularly poor peasants.

When carrying out the agrarian reform it will
be necessary to adopt laws guaranteeing the private
and personal property of every peasant and safe-
guarding him against profiteers and usurers who
will again try to rob him.

Such in general outline is our draft (still in-
complete) agrarian reform.

An agrarian reform which takes cognizance of the
real state of affairs will inspire the peasants to
revolutionary action. The Algerian Communists
hold that an agrarian reform can be implemented
fully only as a result of the socialist revolution.
Today, however, we are speaking about a demo-
cratic revolution in which both the national bour-
geoisie and the worker-peasant masses are inter-
ested.

Although this program corresponds to the inter-
ests of the nation as a whole, we cannot rely
fully on the support of the national bourgeoisie
during the implementation of it. There are not a
few instances of the national bourgeoisie coming
to power and then doing nothing or practically
nothing about agrarian reform. As far as Algeria
is concerned a radical agrarian reform was ad-
vanced as one of the goals at the 1956 Congress
of the National Liberation Front in Soummam. It is
necessary to stress, however, that in the frame-
work of the national, democratic, anti-imperialist,
anti-feudal revolution the scope of the agrarian
reform and its implementation depend on the scale
of the peasant struggle and, in particular, on the
strength of the worker-peasant alliance. And our
Party will do all in itz power to consolidate this
alliance.

E. M. S. NAMBOODIRIPAD
(India)

UR discussion has shown the great variety of

forms in which the agrarian problem pre-
sents itself in the underdeveloped countries. May
I add that, so far as India is concerned, we have
the same variety of forms in which this problem
expresses itself in the various states and, in some
states, even between different regions.

Ever since the country attained independence
and the bourgeoisie came to power, several meas-
ures in the direction of reforming land relations
have been carried through. The agrarian program
adopted by the Indian National Congress, the rul-
ing party, was at first glance a radical, progres-
sive one. It envisaged the abolition of interme-

diaries, rent reduction and security of tenure for
tenant holdings under landlords, the right of ten-
ants to purchase ownership from landlords; fixing
an upper limit, or ceiling, on landholdings and
distributing the surplus land among the landless,
reducing interest rates, improving the conditions
of the agricultural laborers, forming co-operatives
to help the peasants in procuring seeds, fertilizers,
etc., at cheap rates, and also to get fair prices
for their products, organizing the rural people in
Panchayats* and other local organizations.

oe)

*Elected communal village councils with restricted ad
ministrative functions

70

This program, if implemented, would be a heavy
blow to the feudal elements in the country. For
it would not only curtail the property rights of the
old type of feudal landlords but even deprive the
new capitalist type of landlords of the right to en-
rich themselves at the expense of the common
people. Furthermore, it would help the common
people to start building a new life on democratic
lines.

The bourgeoisie, however, is not carrying out
this program in the manner in which it was en-
visaged in the resolution formally adopted by it.
That is why, when our Party was able to form
a government in one of the fourteen states, in
Kerala, we declared that our government would
try to implement what the Congress Party had
laid down as its policy but the Congress govern-
ments had failed to carry out. It was in this light
that our government in Kerala drafted its bill
which, on the agrarian question, closely followed
the guiding lines of the Central Planning Com-
mission. Yet the National Congress, then in oppo-
sition in the state of Kerala, attacked the bill
and jointly with the landlords organized a cam-
paign against it and for unseating the government
that introduced it. This campaign led to the dis-
missal of our government. And now the Central
Government has returned the bill to the state
legislature for the purpose of introducing amend-
ments of a reactionary nature.

While this example shows how the bourgeoisie
is not prepared to implement even what it has
accepted on paper, the same is confirmed by what
is happening in other states. In its resolution the
Congress Party fixed December 31st, 1959, as the
last date by which all the state governments
should complete the Land Reform Legislation, yet
very few have done so; not one has done what
our government did in Kerala. This contrast be-
tween what the Congress promises and what it
does is rather evident. The concrete example of
how the Communist Party helps the peasantry to
get what the Congress promises them is opening
the eyes of many people to the real nature of the
present government of India.

The Communist Party, however, does not con-
fine itself to exposing the gap between the prom-
ises and the performances of the bourgeoisie in
the agrarian question. The Party points out that,
even if the program is fully implemented, the
Government will not be in a position to meet all
the requirements of the peasants. For the essence
of its policy is to transform land relations from
feudal to capitalist relations.

When the Congress program speaks about abol-
ishing intermediaries, it means establishing a new
type of landlord (who appropriates surplus value
through the exploitation of wage-labor) in place of

WORLD MARXIST REVIEW

the old-type landlord (who collects rent from the
cultivator to whom he leases land). What is more,
in connection with the agrarian reform the old
type of landlords are given huge sums as com-
pensation for the rights of which they are de-
prived, not counting a good portion of their land
itself as ‘‘self-cultivated” land. This type of ‘‘abo-
lition of landlordism,”’ therefore, helps the old land-
lord to become a landlord of the new type.

The legislation for rent reduction, security of
tenure and right to purchase ownership is so de-
signed as to enable a narrow stratum of well-to-do
peasants to become rich peasants or even capitalist
landlords. It enables those who have some savings
to become landowners, and to use this newly-
acquired ownership to enrich themselves. Although
the legislation provides for some rights for tenants
it nevertheless enables the landlords to take pos-
session of large tracts of land held by tenants who
thus become landless.

As for fixing a ceiling on land-holdings, there are
sO many exemptions that many big and medium
landlords are able to evade the ceiling law. They
can, for example, divide their families in such a
way that each new family is enabled to retain
land to the ceiling level, and the actual size of the
landholding will remain the same. Again, the law
provides that plantations, lands held by religious
or charitable institutions, land sown to special
crops, and even ‘well managed farms’’ are ex-
empted. All the exemptions together with the vari-
ous subterfuges resorted to by the landlords make
the ceiling a fiction.

The land reform policies of the Congress gov-
ernments were summed up by our Party in its
1958 resolution as follows:

“To sum up, the general aim and direction of
Congress policies is to promote capitalist relations
in agriculture and to generate, foster and develop
a class of substantial landholders, capitalist land-
lords and rich peasants—who, with state aid and
support, can develop agriculture on modern capi-
talist lines, increase production and thus create
a surplus for meeting the requirements of the
general economic development of the country. In
pursuance of these aims, the Congress govern-
ments, while generally curbing feudal relations,
have given substantial concessions to feudal land-
lords, leaving in their possession enough land
to enable them to resort to capitalist farming. It
is also in pursuance of these aims that millions
of tenants have been evicted, redistribution of land
ruled out, proprietary rights denied to the vast
majority of cultivators and the ceiling principle,
reduced to a farce, is now being abandoned.”

Another aspect of the agrarian question in India
is the organization of peasants to step up agricul-
tural production and to raise the standards of their

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WORLD MARXIST REVIEW at

social and cultural life. The efforts made in this
direction are concentrated in what is known as the
Community Development Movement. The declared
purpose of this movement was to raise agricultural
production, improve technique in all its branches,
organize co-operatives, form organizations of youth,
women, children and cultural workers. The country
was to be divided into more than three thousand
Community Development Blocks, each with a fixed
number of technical personnel to help the people
in developing agriculture, fisheries, village indus-
tries, health, education and co-operation. Each
block was to be divided into Panchayats, with
an elected body of people’s representatives who
would work under the leadership of the block.
This was the scheme through which India would
develop its own ‘“‘indegenous form” of “‘socialist
society’’ without ‘‘violence and dictatorship.”
But eight years of work of the Community De-
velopment Blocks have utterly disproved these
claims. The several Evaluation Reports, prepared
under the auspices of the Community Development
Ministry, show how tragic has been the failure
of the movement. For example, the latest report
(the seventh, brought out in July 1960) says: ‘‘Re-
ports from the blocks indicate that, even though
contributions have been forthcoming in a number
of blocks for projects of common benefit, the
basic philosophy behind this method has not per-
meated to any noticeable degree among the people.”
The Communist Party, however, does not take
a negative attitude to the Community Development
Movement. For, while not solving the basic prob-
lem of the country, the movement does help the
peasantry (if they are properly organized) to
improve technique and raise productivity, to raise
their living standards and to organize a higher
and better social and cultural life for themselves.
The credits supplied by the Government, the tech-
nical personnel placed at the disposal of the blocks
and the Panchayats, the facilities afforded to the
youth, women, children, and cultural workers to
organiz® their activity—all these can become a
positive factor in favor of the rural poor provided
the agricultural laborers and the poor peasants are
conscious enough, and organized enough, to take
advantage of them. As a matter of fact, it has
been our exnerience that wherever the Communist
Partv, the Peasant Association and the Agricultural
Labor Association, together with other progressive
organizations, are able to intervene effectively,
the Community Development Blocks, the Panchay-
ats, the co-operatives and the organizations of
youth, women, children and cultural workers can
be used to advance the cause of the rural poor.
At the same time, we do not blind ourselves to
the basic character of the Community Develop-
ment Movement. Launched as it is by the govern-
ment of the bourgeoisie (which is allied to the

landlords), it tends to favor the rural rich, rather
than the rural poor. The resolution of our National
Conference points out: “It is a fact that the bulk
of the expenditure on the community development
. . . flows into the pockets of the big landholders
and the rich peasants. Large sums are advanced
to them as taccavi loans; special agricultural loans
are granted to them for the purchase of tractors,
oil engines or for sinking tubewells. It is they
who grab the lion’s share of the fertilizer and
good quality seed distributed by the government.
In most cases they control the co-operative credit
societies which largely serve their interests. Their
close social links with the administration and
their domination over village Panchayats enable
them to secure innumerable personal advantages.”

We have to recognize the advances registered in
the direction of curbing feudalism, raising pro-
ductivity and facilitating the organization of a new
life for the rural poor. We should, therefore, orga-
nize the rural poor with a view to taking advan-
tage of the land reform laws and the Community
Development Movement.

At the same time, we should make it clear, for
ourselves that the policies pursued by the govern-
ment do not make any basic change either in land
relations or the sphere of social and cultural life
in the rural areas, nor has production increased
to the extent necessary to overcome the food
shortage which is as serious today as it was a
decade ago.

Our Party in its resolution formulated a number
of demands which should become the basis for
peasant action. They are:

‘Vesting of ownership rights in all tenants, re-
gardless of the tenure under which they hold
their land today, subject to restricted right of re-
sumption by small owners. Full security for share-
croppers against eviction; imposition of a ceiling
on all peasant holdings without exemption barring
plantations, and distribution of surplus land to
evicted tenants, agricultural laborers and poor
peasants; free distribution to agricultural laborers
and poor peasants of all cultivable waste lands:
reorganization of the tax structure in such a way
that the tax burden on the poorer sections is sub-
stantially reduced. Immediate reduction of all di-
rect and indirect taxes which weigh heavily on the
rural poor, and cancellation of unjust taxes; break-
ing up of the monopoly trading interests in food
grains and agricultural raw materials through rap-
id expansion of state-trading and ensuring a fair
price for agricultural produce; freeing of peas-
ants from usurious debt and provision of adequate
cheap credit by government and co-operatives:
fixing minimum wages and provision of work and
employment for agricultural laborers; democratiza-
tion of rural administration.

72 WORLD MARXIST REVIEW

“These demands should become the pivotal
points of the Party’s agrarian program today.”

Realization of these demands naturally, would
not solve the basic problem of the rural areas.
It would, however, put a curb on the exploitation
of the rural poor. The real problem is the back-
wardness of the national economy as a whole. This
is seen in the fact that approximately 70 per cent
of the population depend on the land for a liveli-
hood. India is among the countries with the lowest
standard of living and lowest national income.

The basic problem can be solved only if the
rate of industrial development is quickened much
more than it is today. The Second Five-Year Plan,

for example, hopes to reduce in 25 years the pro-
portion of people living on the land from 70 to 60
per cent. But even this figure is too high and
should be further reduced if the man-power and
the land resources are to be rationally utilized.
For this purpose it is necessary to follow the
path of rapid industrialization with the emphasis
on heavy industry, taken by the Government five
years ago. The Communist Party, the Peasant
Association and the Agricultural Labor Associa-
tion should, therefore, unite with the other pro-
gressive organizations for what our Party’s reso-
lution calls ‘‘the democratic demand of the people
of India as a whole for uninterrupted and rapid
industrialization of the country.”

R. ULYANOVSKY
(USSR)

The winning of national independence has made
the radical solution of the land question in the
interests of the peasantry the problem of the day.
Naturally, the only radical solution is abolition of
feudal land tenure and the big estates, which is
also a basic condition for rapid industrialization
and the growth of the home market. But the bour-
geoisie, when confronted with this task, which is
dictated by the interests of the nation as a whole,
completely reveals its inconsistency and its inabil-
ity to solve this problem in a democratic way in
the interests of the peasants. In the countries
of Asia where the proletariat headed the national-
liberation movement, the struggle against imperi-
alism and feudalism ended in the complete victory
of the people, a factor which enabled these coun-
tries to begin the building of socialism and to
solve both the agrarian question, i.e. the land
question, and the peasant question as a whole, i.e.,
reconstruction of agriculture through peasant co-
operation. On the other hand, in those Asian coun-
tries where the national-liberation movement was
headed by the national bourgeoisie, although inde-
pendence was won thanks to the struggle of the
entire people, the anti-feudal revolution has not
been carried through to the end, i.e., the land
question has not been solved fully in favor of the
peasantry.

Seeking to maintain its leadership in the na-
tional-liberation movement and retain its grip on
the masses, the national bourgeoisie, both during
and after the struggle for power, has striven to
isolate the working-class movement from the peas-
ant movement, the anti-imperialist movement from
the anti-feudal movement, in order to deprive the
working class of its main and natural ally, the
peasantry. The latter, numerically the biggest

force in the national-liberation movement, imparts

depth and scope to the movement. But upon com-
ing to power, the national bourgeoisie, which aligns
itself in one or another degree with the landlord
elements, take the path of ‘‘appeasing” the revo-
lutionary struggle of the peasantry by resorting to
half-measures and partial concessions. This has been
going on for more than ten years now.

The political purpose of the so-called agrarian
reforms initiated by the ruling circles without rely-
ing on the democratic forces of the peasantry is
to isolate ‘he latter from the working class.

In examining any problem relating to the East
today, it is necessary to proceed from the propo-
sition that the East is not a single entity, that the
countries are at various levels of development.
Consequently, it would be a mistake to apply the
conclusions drawn from a study of one or several
of the countries to all, without regard for their
specific features. True, this concrete, differentiated
approach does not mean that some general con-
clusions are not applicable to the East as a whole
or to its various regions.

If we examine the present stage of agrarian evo-
lution in most of the non-socialist countries of
Asia from this standpoint it will be clear that their
national-liberation movements have not solved the
agrarian-peasant question. In fact it would be truer
to say that it is becoming one of the basic issues
in the new stage of the class struggle in these
countries.

After a brief look at the agrarian reforms and
the condition of the peasantry in the principal
countries of the Middle East, India and South-
East Asia, R. Ulyanovsky continued:

The specific features of the agrarian-peasant
question in the non-socialist countries of Asia
at the present time are: first, the national bour-

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WORLD MARXIST REVIEW 73

geoisie came to power after the Second World
War primarily with the support of the peasantry;
second, the bourgeoisie in nearly all countries of
the East was able, on the whole, to drive a wedge
between the anti-imperialist struggle and the anti-
feudal struggle of the masses and, thanks to this,
still holds the bulk of the peasantry under its
influence; third, in the postwar the bourgeoisie
has succeeded in evading a radical agrarian revo-
lution, or at least in putting it off. The peasantry
in these countries is not yet strong enough to abol-
ish the landlord class, and it is still not under the
leadership of the working class. At the same time
the bourgeoisie is no longer able to maintain and
buttress its domination without carrying out some
bourgeois, anti-feudal agrarian reforms based on
compromise. This is a basic element of the present
political situation in the Afro-Asian countries, a
feature pregnant with political crises. The upheav-
als of recent years in some of these countries
reflect to a degree the maturing of these crises.

Agrarian reforms are being carried out in nearly
all the non-socialist countries of Asia. Though
varying in scale and speed, these reforms are
basically bourgeois reforms in the sense that the
idea is to ensure a capitalistic development of
agriculture. The main object is to restrict large-
scale, mostly parasitic landownership, and, to some
extent, usury. But such reforms cannot solve the
land question fundamentally—they do not abolish
the landlord class, do not give the land to those
who till it, with the result that the countries are
still left with landless and land-hungry peasants.
Moreover, some of the landlords become agricul-
tural capitalists.

As a rule, the reforms provide for a certain re-
distribution of land in favor of the peasants through
land purchase—either from the state or from land-
lords; for some reduction in rents; abolition of
some of the feudal services and dues; for restric-
tion of the acreage in foreign hands; for extension
of state credits to agriculture; for co-operatives
and co-operative credits; for increased production
for the market and for enabling the country to
compete on the world market, and for the develop-
ment of the productive forces in agriculture on a
capitalist commodity-production basis.

These and similar measures have led to an in-
crease in the number of peasant holdings and have
given the peasant proprietors some rights they
did not have before. Some of the more loathsome
feudal dues and levies are being abolished, and
the conditions on which land is leased and credits
granted are becoming less onerous. But the plots
owned by the peasants have either remained un-
changed or are being enlarged only very slowly
because the landlords and some of the merchants
and usurers are beginning to farm themselves, or
are enlarging their present farms by absorbing the

land formerly leased to the peasants. Because of
the considerable growth of the peasant population,
which is not accompanied by a comparable in-
crease in the crop acreage, the acreage per capita
declines. If we bear in mind that the wealthy sec-
tions of the rural population have considerably
enlarged their holdings it will be appreciated that
the peasant masses now suffer more from the
lack of land than ever. The measures taken against
usury too are not such as to free the peasants
from the grip of the money-lenders. Although state
and co-operative credits have increased, they are
still insufficient and ineffective and in any case are
mainly available to the well-to-do peasantry.

The bulk of the peasants have gained no appre-
ciable benefit from the land reforms. The advan-
tages have accrued to the landlords who have
switched to capitalist farming, to the rich farmers
and the well-to-do middle peasants. The govern-
ments, as a rule, encourage the landlords in their
venture into capitalist farming. The big farmers,
too, are heavily supported. They, however, are
still not satisfied. Consequently, in most Asian coun-
tries this section still is a force capable of playing
a part, in varying degree, in the fight to abolish
feudal survivals, and in the first place the system
of landlordism.

The development of capitalist agriculture in the
countries of the East, which has gained momentum
since the Second World War, and the postwar agra-
rian reforms have intensified the class differentia-
tion within the peasantry. The problem of peasants
suffering from land shortage or not having any
land at all is as acute as ever. The use of ma-
chinery on the big farms is adding to rural un-
employment. In many places peasants are being
driven off the land. More and more people, espe-
cially the youth, are abandoning the countryside
for the towns.

Thus the measures taken by the ruling circles
to stave off the agrarian revolution, although they
have eased the position of the peasantry somewhat,
are nothing more than palliatives and cannot really
solve the land question in favor of the peasants.
As a result, dissatisfaction is steadily growing,
especially among the poor peasants and farm
laborers.

Millions of peasants are caught up in a ferment,
which is both open and concealed. Their strivings
and aspirations vary greatly, but among the more
politically conscious sections a growing urge to-
ward socialism can be discerned. In these aspira-
tions there are many liberal illusions about equal-
ity and justice, utopian views about the future
society; still, for all that, the millions can no
longer be won over by propagating the idea of
capitalist development. Because of this the rulers
in many of the Asian countries pay lip service

74 WORLD MARXIST REVIEW

to socialism, though the last thing they want is
genuine socialism. Many progressive spokesmen
among the national bourgeoisie are sincerely dis-
cussing the advantages of socialism, even though
they do not accept Marxism. What is under way,
then, is an intense ideological and organizational
struggle for the peasantry. In this struggle the
national bourgeoisie, seriously alarmed at the pro-
spect of losing its hold on the working peasants
who have been disillusioned by the developments
of the last ten to fifteen years, seeks to maintain
its influence by implementing reforms, by means
of the illusions engendered by these reforms, and
by indulging in naked demagogy.

With capitalist development gaining momentum
in many of the economically underdeveloped coun-
tries, the struggle waged by the most revolutionary,
proletarian and semi-proletarian section of the
peasantry against capitalist and semi-feudal ex-
ploitation and for a radical agrarian reconstruction
along democratic lines acquires ever greater sig-
nificance. Successful realization by the proletariat
of its cardinal political task — building a durable
alliance with the peasantry and liberating it from
the influence of the bourgeoisie and the landlords
—is the basic condition for raising the national-

liberation movement, directed mainly against im-
perialism, to a new and higher stage.

In the days before the general crisis of capital-
ism and the Great October Socialist Revolution,
the choice between the ‘‘American’’ and “Prus-
ian’’ ways of capitalist development in agriculture
was the key issue in defining the strategy and
tactics of the proletariat in the bourgeois revolu-
tions. Today, however, when the prospect of agri-
culture developing along socialist lines is a prac-
tical possibility even in the economically backward
countries, the differences in principle between the
two ways of capitalist evolution are largely being
effaced. Objectively, the essence of the class strug-
gle in the countryside in the ex-colonial countries
is no longer the choice of one of the two ways
of capitalist development, as was the case in
Russia 60, 80 or 100 years ago; today the issue at
stake is whether to take the capitalist or the
socialist road—a situation reflecting the battle be-
tween the two tendencies in social development.
And this presupposes the rallying of the progres-
sive, democratic forces in the struggle for con-
sistent, radical agrarian reforms that would abolish
all survivals of feudalism and clear the way for
the development of the countryside along entirely
new lines.

K. NOURI
(Iran)

HE agrarian question has long been one of the

most pressing issues in our country. According
to official statistics, of a total of 164.3 million hec-
tares, 50 million are arable land, 18 million wood-
ed, 10 million pasture and the remainder desert
and mountain areas. The same sources show that
in 1957 only 5,715,000 hectares of the arable land
were under crops, while 10,300,000 lay fallow. Of
the cultivated area only 1.6 million hectares were
irrigated.

Livestock raising occupies an important place in
the Iranian economy. According to estimates, this
branch accounts for nearly half the value of agri-
cultural production. After oil, livestock products
are one of the biggest export items.

Feudal relations predominate in Iranian agricul-
ture. Although capitalism has penetrated into this
area too, its development has been rather one-
sided, and it is encountered primarily in the sphere
of trade.

The basic form of ownership of land and water
is large-scale landlord property, with métayage as
the dominant form of relations between landlord
and peasant. The big owner leases the land, water
and sometimes the seed and livestock to the tiller,
and the produce is divided between them accord-

ing to established rules. The most complete figures
show that 60 per cent of the peasants have no Jand
of their own; 23 per cent have less than one hec-
tare; 10 per cent from one to three hectares, and
only seven per cent have more than three hec-
tares.

According to United Nations statistics (1955), of
the total cultivated area 14 per cent belonged to
peasants, 85 per cent to landlords, the state and
religious bodies, while one per cent was communal
peasant land.

This situation is a serious barrier to the devel-
opment of all branches of the country’s economy.
The imperative need to change the relations pre-
vailing in Iranian agriculture is becoming increas-
ingly clear to broad sections of society.

The basic demands of the poor peasants are for
land and implements free of charge to those peas-
ants with no land at all or who do not have enough
to maintain themselves and their families, annul-
ment of the crushing debt burden and raising the
sharecropper now in bondage to the landlord to
the status of a free and independent farmer.

Although the poor peasants are the basic and
most revolutionary force in the countryside, they
do not exhaust its revolutionary potential.

i, Ad

eS Oe

WORLD MARXIST REVIEW 75

The middle peasants, too, want to see an end to
the landlord system. They, too, are ground down
by the big landowners and for this reason they
gravitate to the democratic revolution, one of the
aims of which is the abolition of feudalism. Since
this section of the peasantry can be a considerable
force in the fight against the landlords, the working
class cannot but pay due attention to it. The
working class is interested in the middle peasant
having a prosperous husbandry and a decent stan-
dard of living.

The rich farmers, on the one hand, want the
poorer section of the rural population to remain
farm laborers and poor peasants, and for this rea-
son don’t want them to receive land of their own.
But they are also dissaatisfied with feudal domi-
nation since it limits their chances of making
profit. Moreover, the anti-feudal revolution, which
will be directed mainly against the landlords, will
not affect the rich farmers, whereas abolition of
the big estates would broaden their opportunities.
Hence, the rich farmers can be neutral in the
future agrarian revolution. The working class is
in a position to persuade them to be neutral by
ensuring the inviolability of their property and
holdings.

The industrial workers feel that unless land rela-
tions are changed and farm output increased there
can be no talk of expanding industry.

The national bourgeoisie, the small bourgeoisie
in the towns, most of the rich peasants and those
landlords who are aligned with the national bour-
geoisie, conscious of the need for agrarian reform,
openly support it. The revolutionary wing of the
national bourgeoisie stands for more deep-going
reforms, the Right-wing for more limited ones.

Of late the need for agrarian reform has been
admitted even by some of the country’s rulers.
The Shah and his entourage have been speaking
about the advisability of restricting land ownership
and selling part of the big estates to the peasants.
The Shah himself has begun to sell part of his
holdings.

It should be noted, however, that the majority
of the feudal landlords are opposed to any change.
At best they hold that the landlord himself must
have the decisive say. Another section of the land-
lord class concedes the possibility of agrarian re-
forms, but only those that will not impinge on
their interests.

What is behind the Shah’s announcement that he
is selling part of his estates and the opinion
voiced by imperialist circles, especially the Ame-
ricans, of the need for reforms?

The fight for land waged by the millions of peas-
ants in the underdeveloped countries is of decisive
importance in the development of the revolutionary
movement. The imperialists realize quite correctly

that violence, police terror and dictatorship can-
not solve the contradictions springing from the
survivals of feudal relations in agriculture, and
that so long as the contradictions exist, these
countries can be likened to rumbling volcanoes
likely to erupt at any moment and—as has already
happened in some countries—rid themselves of the
imperialist influences,

In addition to the political reasons there are eco-
nomic reasons for the attitude of the imperialists.
They need agricultural produce in ever-growing
quantities and are always in search of new spheres
of investment and for markets for their manufac-
tures. At the same time the spheres of their in-
fluence and markets are shrinking year by year.
This impels them to search for ways of recouping
their losses in the areas still under their influence.
Hence the imperialist support for some of the
agrarian reforms in countries like Iran.

The views held by the advocates of reform were
reflected in an agrarian bill which the government
submitted to the Mejlis some time ago. However,
the amendments introduced in a special committee
of the Mejlis nullified the positive aspects of the
bill, insignificant though they were. The law as
finally adopted left things exactly as they were.

The initial draft set the ceiling for holdings at
300 hectares in irrigated areas and 600 hectares in
the non-irrigated; besides, the landowner could give
double this area to his legal heirs. Moreover, it
was proposed to leave in the possession of the
landlord all orchards, gardens and farms cultivated
by machinery and laborers.

The terms of the bill were such that it would
have affected only a handful of the very big land-
owners. The only new features were the fixing of
a ceiling for property in land and the stiupulation
that any land in excess of the ceiling would be
sold to the state.

The law in its final form, however, does not
make it compulsory for the landlord to sell his
excess land. On the contrary, he can retain his
holdings in full by paying an insignificant tax on
the excess acreage.

Another important point was the price fixed for
the excess land. The original draft fixed it on the
basis of the annual profit yielded by the holding.
As it now stands the law stipulates a ‘‘fair price,”
that is, a price to which the big landowner agrees.
This enables the latter, if he does not wish to sell
his land, to drag out interminably the negotiations
for a ‘fair price’; moreover, he is exempted even
from the nominal tax until a final settlement is
reached. In other words, the law now is nothing
more than a recommendation to the big Jandowners
to reduce their holdings somewhat and, if they
wish to do so, to sell part of them to the state at
a good profit.

76 WORLD MARXIST REVIEW

It goes without saying that a “‘reform’’ of this
kind cannot satisfy the peasants.

All this explains working-class policy in relation
to the peasant masses at this stage, a policy of
relying on the poor peasants, forming an alliance
with the middle peasants, and ensuring the neut-
rality of the rich farmers. The gist of the economic
program offered by the working class to the
three sections of the peasantry is as follows:
abolition of the landlord system and the transfer
of landlord property to the peasants through con-
fiscation of the land, water sources and other means
of farm production, without compensation in the
case of the feudal estates and landlords who have
acted as enemies of the people, and with compen-
sation in the case of the big landowners who uphold
the national interests; annulment of the crushing
debt burden borne by the poor peasants and owed
to the banks, landlords and usurers; aid to the
middle peasants and guarantees to the rich farm-
ers that their property and holdings will remain
intact.

As regards land belonging to the national bour-
geoisie and various enterprises operating on a capi-
talist footing, the revolutionary government should
promote the consolidation of a united front of
the national forces simultaneously with the aboli-

tion of feudal relations and the big estates. This
would involve the purchase of such lands at a
fzir price. If the land belonging to the state and
religious institutions is added to the foregoing, a
substantial reserve will be available for providing
land and means for the peasants who have not
enough land or none at all.

The urgent measures needed to ensure a sub-
sistence level for the poor and middle peasants
are: annulment of the burden of debt owed to
the usurers and banks, adequate state credits, es-
tablishment of mutual-aid societies and consumer
co-operatives and voluntary association of poor
and middle peasants in these organizations, and
technical and scientific help.

This emergency aid should be followed up by
extensive government aid in irrigation and land
reclamation through measures such as damming
rivers, sinking wells, and developing and extending
irrigation systems. Needed, too, are more farm
machines and factories for the production of ferti-
lizers. This, by raising farming to a higher level,
would ensure a higher standard of living for the
rural working people. Such are the salient features
of the agrarian program of the Tudeh Party, the
party of the Iranian working class.

D. TABET
(Italy) .

HE subject under discussion boils down to

whether the national bourgeoisie in the under-

developed countries is capable of solving the agra-
rian problem.

We believe that we could make a contribution to
the discussion in the light of our experience of
the struggle waged by the peasant masses in Italy.

The agrarian reform or, to be more exact, the
beginning of an agrarian reform in Italy, was the
outcome of a broad movement of the peasants
and other sections of the people, a movement which
gained in scope after the victory in the anti-fascist
struggle for national liberation.

The bourgeoisie, however, adopted agrarian
reform laws with the object of splitting the trade
union and democratic movement in the countryside,
forcing it to retreat, and of gravely undermining
the influence wielded by the Communist Party,
the inspirer and leading force in this struggle.

Tke Communist Party’s line vis-a-vis the gov-
ernment’s agrarian measures, a line with which
the Socialist Party was in accord, was absolutely
clear: we rejected these measures but did not
confine ourselves to this. We decided to intervene

by mass actions to demand not only that the law
be applied, but that it should be improved in the
course of application. Our reply to the restricted
expropriation of land was to call for more expro-
priation; to the discrimination shown against peas-
ants in carrying out the reform, we called for
realization of the slogan ‘‘Land to all who are
entitled to it,’”’ that is, landless peasants or those
who have not enough Jand and, primarily, peas-
ants already working on expropriated lands; to
the difficult conditions imposed on the peasants,
we fought for better conditions in order to help the
new small farmers in their difficult task.

We established new organizational forms of an
alliance embracing not only the peasants, but all
the democratic sections in town and countryside—
“Land committees,’’ for example, which unite, in
addition to representatives of political and trade
union organizations, also members of the co-
operatives and free professions, intellectuals, han-
dicraftsmen, small tradesmen, etc. Together with
the parties and trade unions these ‘‘Land commit-
tees” played an important part in conducting pro-
paganda and agitation and mobilizing the peasants
and public opinion.

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WORLD MARXIST REVIEW 77

We can say today that the reactionary plans
of the government have met with fiasco. The
bourgeoisie did not succeed in splitting the peasant
movement, in weakening the Communist Party or
in achieving the political results on which they
reckoned. Communist Party influence grew in the
regions in which agrarian reform was carried
through. Important results were achieved during
the struggle for the economic demands of the
peasants, the democratization of the obligatory co-
operatives and of the offices carrying through the
reform.

The granting of even a small portion of land to
the working peasants did away with some of the
obstacles standing in the way of capital investments
in agriculture. The experience of the reform offices
and centers has proved that through struggle the
requirements of the peasants, for instance, in agri-
cultural credits, tractor servicing, land reclama-
tion, etc., could be met by these - bodies—instru-
ments of the capitalist state. Agricultural production
has increased substantially on these lands.

It has been our policy to get the peasants to
participate actively first in discussing the agrarian
reform law in Parliament and on a_ nationwide
scale, and then in carrying through the reform,
amending the law in the course of its application.

The land reform, limited though it was (the
peasants have already received about one million
hectares on fixed terms), was a big blow to large-
scale landownership and feudal survivals (and,
hence, undermined the political influence of the big
landowners) precisely in those regions where feu-
dal survivals took the typical form of latifundia.
True, feudal survivals were not completely abol-
ished, but they are no longer the dominant element
in agriculture. Even in regions where capitalist
development has long since eradicated the feudal
survivals, implementation of the ‘“‘land to the
tiller’ slogan is the basic condition for removing
the obstacles to greater investments in farming,
improving the conditions of the working peasants,
the growth of peasant co-operation and expanding
the home market. Realization of this slogan is a
condition for the abolition of one of the pillars of
clerical and fascist reaction—large-scale landed
property.

In recent years the penetration into the country-
side of finance capital, closely associated with the
big landowners and clerical and fascist groupings,
has been so rapid and on such a large scale that
the fight for land reform is now closely linked
with the anti-monopoly struggle. °

The aggravation of the agricultural crisis and
the Common Market Agreement have resulted,
among other things, in nearly one million peas-
ants having to leave their farms in recent years
and look for work elsewhere in the country or

abroad. This extremely difficult situation has creat-
ed new conditions for the anti-monopoly and anti-
imperialist struggle: new peasant masses, hitherto
considered to be the reserve of reaction, can now
be brought into motion, won from the influence of
social conservatism and, under the leadership of
the working class, participate in the movement to
make a reality of the slogan ‘‘land to the tiller,”
for the reform of the country’s economic, sccial
and political structure in conformity with the prin-
ciples of the republican Constitution won in the
great anti-fascist national-liberation struggle.

We have, then, reached a point when the over-
coming of the feudal survivals can no longer be
regarded as a condition for capitalist development
in agriculture; we should pose the question of
struggle for the implementation of the “land to
the tiller’’ slogan as a condition for an anti-monop-
oly way of development. This will not as yet be
socialist development, but it will be a step in
that direction. From this flows the revolutionary
content of these structural reforms which are not
an end in themselves, as the reformists consider
them to be, but one of the basic factors in the
struggle waged by the working class and its allies
for the conquest of power.

The following factors are of significance for the
Italian countryside:

a) the fight for the vital demands of the various
categories of working people in the countryside
such as: bread and work, agricultural agreements,
vocational training, social aid, and reduction of
the taxes which are ruining the peasants. The
working people regard these demands as being
urgent, and the struggle for them is helping to
develop the political consciousness of the masses;

b) the efforts for the application of the laws
which were adopted as a result of the struggle
inspired numerous actions;

c) the class solidarity of the working people in
the countryside, the alliance between the rural
proletariat and the working peasants is the base
upon which the struggle in the countryside can
develop;

d) the formation of a trade union for the agri-
cultural proletariat which, with the sharecroppers’
trade union, embraces one million members, was
accompanied by establishing specific democratic
associations of the working peasants. The National
Union of Peasants was set up and signed a friendly
agreement with agricultural unions of the General
Confederation of Labor;

e) peasant co-operatives of various types are
playing an increasingly important part. The peas-
ants are manifesting a desire—often spontaneously
—to establish co-operative organizations on demo-
cratic principles for the sale, purchase and pro-

78 WORLD MARXIST REVIEW

cessing of farm products, and for the joint purch-
ase of agricultural machinery.

It can be affirmed that the Italian countryside
today is no longer a brake on the working-class
movement. That has been proved by the partici-
pation of millions of peasants in the struggle for
freedom and peace, and for the consolidation of
the new regrouping of democratic forces in par-

liament and the country at large, for the formation
of a government which would express the inter-
ests of these forces. It was reaffirmed by the active
participation of the peasants in the victorious
struggle of July 1960 which foiled the attempt of
the fascist-backed clerical government to push the
country towards authoritarian forms of rule by the

monopoly groups.

G. VIEIRA
(Colombia)

F the 114 million hectares of land available

in Colombia only 33 million are farm land,
of which 30 million are being used for ranching.
Seventy per cent of this is natural pasture in which
no investments have ever been made. Although
some of the herdsmen receive wages in one form
or another, this type of extensive animal husbandry
is of a semi-feudal character.

Animal husbandry is practised in the fertile
valleys and plains, while crop raising is pursued
on the hillsides where it is difficult to use machines.
According to the figures at our disposal, in 16
departments (the most populated part of the coun-
try) over half a million peasants families, or 61 per
cent of all peasant households, with plots of less
than five hectares, own a total of 900,000 hectares,
i.e., less than three per cent of the land in use
in these departments. At the same time 8,000 land-
lords, each with farms upwards of 500 hectares,
who make up 0.9 per cent of all proprietors, own
40 per cent of the cultivated land. The 637 big
latifundists, with ranches of over 5,300 hectares,
own more land than 750,000 proprietors with hold-
ings of up to 20 hectares, although the latter com-
prise over 82 per cent of all proprietors.

The backwardness of Colombia’s agriculture is
seen, above all, in the primitive ways in which
most of the land is used and in the prevalence of
sharecropping, payment of rent in kind, etc. The
arbitrary actions of the reactionaries in the coun-
tryside, particularly between 1947-57, have further
increased the concentration of the land in the hands
of the latifundists, thereby adding to the number
of landless peasants.

Capitalism is developing unevenly and very slow-
ly in the countryside. Being interwoven with semi-
feudal survivals, it leads neither to the abolition
of the latifundia nor to the large-scale mechaniza-
tion of agriculture. This aggravates still further
the position of the rural working people—victims
of capitalist exploitation and of the old, semi-
feudal relations. Although there are no up-to-date
statistics on the social differentiation in the coun-
tryside, it can be supposed that all in all there
are some 500,000 poor tenants, or 20 per cent of

the rural labor force. The rural proletariat forms
a force of 1,200,000 peons. The steady decline of
agriculture and the growing poverty in the country-
side are retarding the development of the national
industry.

U.S. imperialism does not directly exploit Colom-
bia’s agriculture. An exception is the United Fruit
Co., owner of banana plantations in the Magdalena
Department, which it is sclling to national capi-
talists. This company continues to have a monopoly
of export operations and lays out new plantations
in Uraba, near the Panama border. The oil com-
panies have obtained a concession for vast tracts
of land from which they are trying to evict the
peasants, thereby compelling them to fight directly
against the imperialists.

It is common knowledge that veritable peasant
wars against the dictatorial regimes imposed on
our country by U.S. imperialism have been fought
in Colombia. These wars were a means of self-
defense of the masses against the terror of the
dictatorships and, in many cases, were not linked
directly with the agrarian problem. Nevertheless,
it was this problem that in most cases underlay the
armed struggle even though it was covered up
with traditional political slogans. In a number of
districts there still exists a strong peasant move-
ment but it is not organized on a nationwide scale.
The National Peasants’ Federation, formed at the
end of 1959, encounters the hostility of the gov-
ernment and suffers from organizational weakness-
es. The movement is characterized by
relatively high revolutionary consciousness and
regards its fight for the land as being one with
the struggle for national independence.

The need for an agrarian reform is now on the
lips of all. Representatives of the ruling classes
have repeatedly said that unless the reform is
carried out from above, by the government, the
people will implement it from below, by their own
efforts. But the latifundists are clinging desperately
to their privileges, and when tliey agree to the
parcelling out of their estates they do so in an
extortionist way. They readily attach the label
“communist’”’ to any reform. But of late President

peasant

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WORLD MARXIST REVIEW 79

= Lleras Camargo has been calling for a ‘‘decent”
land reform, contrasting it to the revolutionary
reform in Cuba.

But agrarian reform as conceived by the govern-
ment does not go beyond plans to settle some
areas, plans financed by the American imperial-
ists. Colombia’s experience shows that the bour-
geoisie as a whole is incapable of carrying out
an effective agrarian reform. This is true for both
the big conciliatory bourgeoisie and the national
bourgeoisie, although their spokesmen now urge
the need for reform and are prepared to make it
a point in their programs.

In its policy statement the Communist Party of
Colombia has called for ‘‘a democratic agrarian
reform’’ which means that the big latifundia should
be confiscated and the land, machines, implements
and draught animals transferred gratis to the land-
less peasants and those with small plots to whom
the government should present title-deeds; the
land granted as a concession to the North Ameri-
can imperialists should likewise be confiscated.
The Party has helped to draft an agrarian reform
bill which was submitted to Congress by the peas-
ant leader Varela and members of Parliament
belonging to the Liberal Revolutionary Movement.
The draft stipulates that the maximum holding

should be 400 hectares and that everything in excess
of this figure should be expropriated. In keeping
with Article 30 of the Constitution, the draft sug-
gests that no compensation be paid if the holdings
in question are not used in conformity with public
interests. In order to implement the measures
envisaged in the draft it has been suggested that
a National Council for Agrarian Reform should be
established as an autonomous body accountable
only to Congress. Peasants and workers should
have direct representation on this council.

Although the draft has been worked out within
the framework of the operative constitutional stan-
dards, it has become the banner of the agrarian
movement. Consequently, there is not the slightest
chance that it will be endorsed by the present
Parliament.

The democratic agrarian reform in Cuba is an
inspiring example to the agrarian movement and
to the revolutionary forces in Colombia from which
they draw both experience and weighty arguments.
A genuine agrarian reform in our country will
come about only as a result of the revolutionary
struggle of the peasants in alliance with the
working class and the advanced forces of the
petty bourgeoisie; a part of the national bour-
geoisie can also be enlisted for this struggle.

Communications and Comment

WORLD MARXIST REVIEW

Co-operation in Science and Engineering
Among the Socialist Countries

Pegeirnrencn in science and engineering is
a major facet of the economic relations among
the socialist countries. It was a cardinal factor in
the postwar rehabilitation in the People’s Democra-
cies, and its importance to socialist economic de-
velopment has been growing ever since. Indeed,
it is a striking manifestation of the spirit of the
disinterested mutual assistance characteristic of
the relationships in the socialist camp. True, in
the capitalist world, too, firms and plants often
place at the disposal of their counterparts in other
countries patents or other scientific and technolo-
gical information, but in doing so they bow to the
inherent laws of capitalist society and are promp-
ted only by the profit motive.

The principles underlying the co-operation in the
socialist camp are totally different. Here the re-
cipients of scientific, technological and other in-
formation necessary for making new machines or
creating new branches of industry, including com-
plete sets of blueprints and specifications, pay only
the actual costs involved.

The profit motive is alien to socialist co-opera-
tion, for here the aim is to accelerate the introduc-
tion of the latest achievements in science and en-
gineering and the most advanced production meth-
ods of each country in all the countries of the
socialist camp, to help the technically and econo-
mically less developed to reach the level of the
foremost without going through the stages the lat-
ter have already passed.

The biggest help to others, naturally, is rendered
by the socialist countries with the most advanced
industry and the highest technological level, but
as progress goes on they all contribute a growing
share to the common effort. An idea of the scope
of co-operation in this field may be gained from
the fact that in the period from 1948 to 1960 the
Soviet Union placed at the disposal of the People’s
Democracies some 29,000 sets of blueprints and
specifications and received more than 7,000 in re-
turn. These included blueprints for capital con-
struction developments, sets of blueprints for ma-
chines and other industrial equipment, descriptions
of technological processes, etc. In the same period,
19,106 specialists from the People’s Democracies
visited the Soviet Union, and 11,601 from the Soviet
Union went to the People’s Democracies.

Besides, the People’s Democracies exchanged in
this period tens of thousands of technical stand-
ards and patents, experts findings, training pro-
grams, samples of products, etc.

The use of technical specifications provided by
the Soviet Union and of its production experience
has substantially accelerated the designing and
construction of plants, factory departments, mines,
power stations, cultural and public utility estab-
lishments, as well as the creation of new machines
and other equipment in the People’s Democracies.
The solutions to many cardinal problems of a tech-
nological and economic nature have been found
thanks to pooling scientific and engineering know-
how.

The Chinese People’s Republic has received con-
siderable aid from the Soviet Union in this res-
pect. Suffice it to say that of the nearly 1,300 blue-
prints for major projects provided by Soviet or-
ganizations, more than 400 have already been used
in China. This has greatly reduced the time needed
for designing and building industrial enterprises.
Soviet specifications were used, for instance, in
designing the Paotow and Wuhan iron and steel
works, in reconstructing the blast furnaces, agglo-
meration mill, coke batteries and the coke by-
products plant of the Anshan iron and steel works,
and the sheet mills at Taiyuan and Tai.

Soviet specifications are also used at the new
copper mines at Shouwanfeng and Peihsiang, in the
construction of the Tungkwanghsien iron and steel
works, and at many non-ferrous metals develop-
ments in Chungtiaoshang and elsewhere.

The Chinese engineering industry has drawn on
Soviet technological specifications of a great many
types of machines and other equipment, including
coal-mining machines of the Donbas type, coal
cutters and loaders, more than 100 types of ma-
chine tools, turbo-generators, transformers, oil
circuit-breakers and other electrical equipment.
China now manufactures motor cars, bicycles,
cameras, wrist watches, radios and many other
items that used to be imported. Moreover, she has
become an exporter of complete plant for light and
food industries, hoisting equipment, machine tools,
diesel engines, medical equipment, etc.

The Soviet Union on its part makes use of Chi-
nese achievements. For instance, the use in bridge-

WORLD

building of thin-walled reinforced concrete sections
according to Chinese specifications has reduced
the cost of pier foundations by 40 per cent while
speeding up the work.

Soviet organizations have also received from
China engineering data reflecting her rich exper-
ience in the construction of multi-arch dams, water
conservation, prefabrication of reinforced concrete
structural sections and supports, manufacture of
silk fabrics, etc. The Soviet medical services are
making use of the centuries-old experience of Chi-
nese folk medicine in treating certain nervous ail-
ments as well as in cultivating and processing
medicinal plants.

The Czechoslovak Socialist Republic has set up
with the help of Soviet projects and specifications
such new branches as the aluminum, ferro-alloys,
and ball and roller bearing industries, and is
launching the production of synthetic rubber, etc.
The use of a Soviet project in building a concrete
works in Usti saved nearly 21 million crowns for
the country. And a saving of about 10 million
crowns accrued from the use of Soviet specifica-
tions for bearings manufacture.

On its part, Czechoslovakia has supplied details
on improvements in the automobile and _ building
industries, and has shared its experience in the
manufacture of textile equipment and cathode-ray
tubes. The Gorky Motor Works in the USSR is
now using Czechoslovak synthetic enamel dyes
which have greatly simplified the painting of motor
cars while cutting costs and improving quality.
Czechoslovak experience in the manufacture of
air-cooled engines has been applied in a number
of Soviet factories.

The German Democratic Republic has adopted
Soviet methods of working open-cut coal mines and
mechanizing anthracite and brown coal extraction
and concentration, non-ferrous ores prospecting,
mining and dressing, production and operation of
electrolytic baths, etc. Soviet projects have also
been used in reconstructing a number of depart-
ments at GDR metallurgical works.

Soviet specialists have made a study of the
chemical industry in the GDR and drawn on its
experience in starting new lines of chemical pro-
duction in the Soviet Union, and also in project-
ing reconstruction or construction of chemical
works or their departments. The example of the
GDR has been instrumental in introducing produc-
tion units with a capacity of 20 tons of synthetic
staple per day in place of 10-ton units. GDR ex-
perience in ore dressing too has been found use-
ful, and the introduction of the new method
throughout the Zyryan, Krivoi Rog, Nizhnyaya An-
gara and Nikopol mining areas is estimated to
yield an annual saving of 230 million rubles.

MARXIST REVIEW 81

The Polish People’s Republic, thanks to scientific
and technological co-operation, has been able to
begin production of electric locomotives, high-
pressure boilers, turbines, turbo-generators, press
and forge shop and foundry equipment, various
agricultural machines, including grain and vege-
table harvesters, cultivators, etc. Poland in turn
has supplied the Soviet Union with hundreds of
sets of blueprints for capital construction projects,
specifications for machines and other equipment,
descriptions of technological processes, etc.

In the Hungarian People’s Republic the ship-
building industry has drawn on Soviet experience
to produce new designs for river and seagoing
vessels of 1,300 and 1,500 ton cargo capacity, a
1,000-ton barge, and a river tanker with an all-
welded hull. At the Kobanya ceramics factory,
Soviet know-how yields an annual economy of one
million forints. A Soviet method for processing flax
is used in light industry.

The Soviet Union has made use of a Hungarian
method of extracting coal from pithead dump. In-
itial results indicate that the cost of the dressed
coal thus obtained is 32 per cent less than that of
mining the same quantity. Apart from adding to
the available coal supply, the method also makes
it possible to convert coal slack into building ma-
terials.

Details supplied by Hungary have also been use-
ful in the Soviet engineering industry. For ex-
ample, it has begun producing a simplified but
more efficient type of slime pump on the basis of
blueprints from Hungary, while those of a coal
cutting and loading machine went into the design
of the PK-3 combined cutter and loader. A device
for spinning machines made after Hungarian spe-
cifications is widely used in the Soviet textile in-
dustry. This device, incidentally, increases pro-
ductivity by an average of 10 per cent.

Co-operation in science and engineering has
played an especially important part in speeding
up industrialization in countries which only recent-
ly had no highly developed industry of their own.
In Bulgaria, for instance, a number of completely
new branches, such as the iron and steel, engineer-
ing, power, chemical and food industries have been
built on the basis of Soviet projects, specifications
and production experience. In Albania, the aid of
the Soviet Union and other socialist countries has
been instrumental in setting up a power industry,
as well as textile, wood-working and sugar indus-
tries. In the Korean People’s Democratic Republic,
a Soviet method of hydraulic mining in collieries
with inclined seams has been employed, as have
a standard project for a ceramics sewer pipe
factory, blueprints and technological specifications
for motor-car parts, and specifications for the pro-
duction of hot-rolled transformer sheet steel, filter

82

paper, etc. The Soviet Union has provided Mon-
golia with technological data for mechanized pro-
cessing of hides and production of building mater-
ials, as well as designs for factories, dwelling
houses and buildings for cultural and public ser-
vice establishments.

Co-operation has played a big part in the devel-
opment of various branches of industry and in the
production of new kinds of output in the Rumanian
People’s Republic. The engineering industry, which
was practically non-existent in old Rumania, has
been developed extensively. Drawing on Soviet pro-
duction experience and technology, Rumania _ is
now turning out machines and other equipment for
the oil industry, tractors and other farm machines,
machine tools, various kinds of electric motors,
excavators and tower cranes. Today Rumania has
a first-class machine-building industry which turns
out most of the machines and industrial equipment
she needs. Soviet specifications were used in Ru-
mania in introducing deep turbo-drilling, and in
building river and seagoing vessels. On its part
the Rumanian People’s Republic shared with the
Soviet Union its experience in the timber, chem-
ical and building industries, in the production of
reinforced concrete poles for power lines by a
centrifugal method, etc.

Among the many forms of co-operation, partic-
ularly noteworthy are the direct contacts estab-
lished in recent years between research institutes
and designing organizations.

At present 330 research institutes in the Soviet
Union are co-operating with 405 similar organiza-
tions in the People’s Democracies on 3,500 themes
of mutual interest. For instance, the USSR Acade-
my of Building and Architecture co-operates with
twelve academies and institutes in six countries;
the Steel Industry Designing Institute, with five
organizations in Czechoslovakia; the Non-Ferrous
Metals Institute, with four institutes in as many
countries; the Bashkirian Oil Institute, with six
organizations in two countries; the Machine-Build-
ing Institute, with eight organizations in four coun-
tries; the USSR Lenin Electro-Technical Institute,
with six organizations in five countries; the Chem-
ical Industry Institute, with six organizations in
four countries; the Plastics Research Institute,
with six organizations in four countries, and so on.

Division of labor among research institutes great-
ly cuts the time required for completing research
projects, saves materials and makes for the most
rational use of experimental facilities.

WORLD MARXIST REVIEW

One of the salient problems on which the scien-
tists, engineers and designers of the socialist coun-
tries are engaged jointly is experimental work in
the sphere of dies, undertaken by the Czechoslo-
vak Chemical Research Institute with the parti-
cipation of experts from the USSR Chemical In-
dustry Institute. As a result of this work the de-
signing of the shop-making dies for acetate silk
at the Rubezhansk Chemical Works was completed
considerably ahead of schedule. The Soviet and
Czechoslovak chemical institutes are working
jointly on a number of other problems.

Soviet and Hungarian institutes are engaged in
interesting research in the production of textiles
from mixtures of synthetic and artificial fiber and
natural wool. Joint investigations by Soviet and
Rumanian scientists in the matter of producing
chemicals from oil have been highly successful.
With the assistance of Rumanian research insti-
tutes, the Seviet Chemical Industry Institute has
already worked out the technology of acetylene
production at Soviet plants. Soviet and Rumanian
designers are also working on a reed cutter.

At the Bodnarka Factory in Cracow, Poland,
Polish and Soviet specialists devised a method of
producing phosphoric fertilizers without the use of
salts, which are in short supply. The research in-
stitutes of the two countries are conducting other
important investigations in the field of chemistry
(manufacture of high-grade viscose, polyacrylon-
itrile and polyether fibers), in the coal industry
(automation of mines, hydraulic extraction of coal
in inclined seams), in machine-tool building, etc.

The scientists and engineers of the Soviet Union.
the German Democratic Republic, Bulgaria and
the other socialist countries are continuing their
joint work on a number of important problems.
For example, research institutes in the USSR and
Bulgaria are engaged in the cultivation of highl
promising new varieties of vegetables and grain
crops. Of especial importance is co-operation in
the peaceful uses of nuclear energy and joint re-
search in nuclear physics.

Co-operation of this kind is of exceptional value
in accelerating economic development and_tech-
nological progress in the socialist countries. It does
away with duplication and concentrates all efforts
on the problems that must be solved in order to
win first place in the world in economy and tech-

nology.
V. SKRYPNIK.

= ct eet: Soe act a es

EE a a

WORLD MARXIST REVIEW 83

Socialism Is Remaking Dobrogea’s Farming

HE socialist reconstruction of the Rumanian

countryside and the eradication of the back-
wardness inherited from the past are among the
major accomplishments of our people under the
leadership of the Workers’ Party. More than 83
per cent of the cultivated area in Rumania now
belongs to the socialist sector, which by the end
of last year gained preponderance as regards both
area and volume of marketable produce.

What prospects this opens for the growth of
farm production and improvement of peasant liv-
ing standards can be seen from the example of
the Rumanian part of Dobrogea, now the Con-
stanta Region, where farming was_ reorganized
along socialist lines at the end of 1957.

Under bourgeois-landlord rule, the Constanta Re-
gion was one of the most backward in Rumania.
Fifty-one per cent of the cultivated land was in
the hands of 900 landlords and some 4,800 rich
peasants, while 79,000 poor and middle peasants
had holdings ranging from one-half to three hec-
tares.

The Dobrogea peasant lacked both land and the
means to till it. According to bourgeois statistics,
roughly one-quarter of all the farms had no agri-
cultural implements of their own. In 1938 there
were in what is now Constanta Region 119 tractors
and 124 trashers, all of them the property of the
landlords and rich peasants. Consequently the
yields were scanty. In the best years the wheat
yield did not exceed 850 kilograms, and maize
600 kilograms per hectare. Livestock raising, too,
was on a low level. In 1935, 43 per cent of the
peasant households had no sheep, and 45 per cent,
no pigs. There were no pedigree cattle and the
productivity of animal husbandry was low. For
instance, the average annual milk yield did not
exceed 300-400 litres per cow, wool averaged a
mere 1.4 kilos per sheep.

This general picture of agriculture in the Con-
stanta Region under the bourgeois-landlord rule
differed little from the situation in Rumanian agri-
culture as a whole.

The socialist reconstruction has literally trans-
formed the Constanta Region, introducing radical
changes in the life of both urban and rural work-
ing people. In keeping with the country’s indus-
trialization program, big developments have taken
place here, and the region’s industry output now
exceeds the prewar level more than fourfold. A
large-scale mechanized agriculture has been built
up. The area’s 347 co-operative farms and 61 state
farms are steadily increasing agricultural produc-
tion and bettering the life of the peasantry.

Our Party’s consistent policy of socialist indus-
trialization has made it possible to create a tech-
nological basis for equipping the farms with trac-
tors and other machines. Thirty-six machine and
tractor stations, which, together with the state
farms, overate a large number of modern machines
and implements, have been organized in the region.
Their equipment includes 6,138 tractors, or 1,280
more than there were in all Rumania before the
war, 3,273 grain harvesters and a great many
other machines that considerably lighten the la-
bor of the peasants and farm workers, thereby
transforming the very nature of agricultural labor.
On the state farms, ploughing and sowing are
completely mechanized, and weeding and harvest-
ing of grain crops, by 75 per cent. On the co-
operative farms, tractors and other machines took
care last year of more than 91 per cent of the
ploughing, 80 per cent of the sowing, and half of
the work in weeding and harvesting.

Numerous operators of agricultural machines,
some 8,000 in all, have been trained. Most of these
are sons of the local peasants. Before the libera-
tion, Dobrogea had only one agronomist for every
40,000 hectares of cultivated land, and not a single
certified mechanical engineer. Today more than
2,250 specialists with a higher or secondary edu-
cation—engineers, agronomists, animal husbandry
experts and mechanics — are working on the
region’s farms.

This progress fully confirms the correctness of
our Party’s policy of promoting co-operative farm-
ing. While strictly adhering to the Leninist prin-
ciple of voluntary membership and_ steadfastly
combating all attempts to employ administrative
compulsion, the Party has emphasized that the
socialist reconstruction of the countryside cannot
proceed spontaneously, it must be guided by the
Party organizations.

The example set by the leading co-operative
farms has played a big role. The Party organiza-
tions and local people’s councils have organized
visits to these farms for working peasants. Region-
al and district farm exhibitions have also been
used to popularize the advantages of collective
farming.

Finding the forms of producer co-operative most
acceptable to the peasants has been of cardinal
importance. The Party has attached much signifi-
cance to promoting co-operatives whose members,
while pooling their land in order to till it jointly
with the aid of the machine and tractor stations,
remain the owners of their respective holdings.
This form has made it simpler for the working
peasants, especially the middle peasants, to go

84 WORLD MARXIST REVIEW

over to collective farming. The economic and or-
ganizational consolidation of farming on a joint-
‘-wnership basis, has helped to educate their mem-
bers in the spirit of collectivism. Indeed the num-
ber of producer associations that after a year
or two of operation reorganized themselves into
co-operative farms increased steadily.

The substitution in December 1956 of a system
of contract purchase and free sale for obligatory
deliveries of farm produce for the state played
a major role in strengthening and promoting pro-
ducer co-operation. This measure gave the work-
ing peasants an added incentive to grow more,
enhanced their initiative and cemented the alliance
of the working class and the working peasantry.

Socialist public ownership of the means of pro-
duction has triumphed in our villages and every
possibility of any individual exploiting another
has been completely abolished. Already as a result
of the Party’s policy of restricting and squeezing
out the rich peasants who exploited the labor of
others, the number of such farmers dropped con-
siderably and their economic strength declined.
But for all that, they still made up as recently
as 1958 about one per cent of the total in our region.

The mass co-operative movement provided the
basis for going over from the policy of restricting
and squeezing out the rich exploiter-peasants to
their abolition as a class. That part of their hold-
ings which they could not till without outside help
passed to the state and co-operative farms. In
deciding what to do with the former capitalist
farmers our basic premise was that the socialist
system and collective labor could re-educate most
of them and make them useful members of the
socialist society on an equal footing with every-
body else. These former rural exploiters are ad-
mitted as members of co-operative farms, although
in the initial period they are not given leading

posts.

In our region, therefore, as elsewhere in the
Republic, the rich peasant proprietors who consti-
tuted the most numerous class of exploiters have
been abolished and, together with this, the last
form of capitalist property has ceased to exist.

The socialist reconstruction of the countryside
has created the prerequisites for a sharp increase
in’ agricultural productivity.

In line with the Party’s orientation on intensive
and diversified agriculture, we pay particular at-
tention to wheat and maize growing and livestock
raising. In recent years the average yield of
wheat has nearly trebled, while that of maize has
almost doubled compared with the prewar figures.
Moreover, the socialist farms are obtaining con-
siderably higher yields than the average for the
region.

Vineyards and cultivation of sunflower and other
crops suited to our soil and climatic conditions are
being extended. Formerly large tracts of land were
unused, because they were not suitable for grain
growing and the individual peasants lacked the
means to convert them into vineyards. But now
co-operative farms are going in for grape growing
on these lands.

The area under maize for silage is being ex-
tended and a solid foundation laid for further
development of livestock raising. In 1958 the num-
ber of head of beef and dairy cattle per hundred
hectares of farm land in our region was 50 per
cent higher than in 1938; in the same period the
number of pigs increased two and a half times
and sheep roughly doubled. Output of animal-hus-
bandry products is steadily rising.

An important indication of the growing strength
of the co-operative farms is the increase in their
publicly-owned property. According to statistics,
in 1959 the co-operative farms’ non-distributable
funds per hundred hectares of farm land were
more than double the 1953 figure.

Of great importance for the economic and orga-
nizational strengthening of the co-operative farms
is perfecting the forms of payment for labor with
a view to giving the farm members added incen-
tives. Formerly the only measure was the work-
day units the farm member had to his credit. In
recent years, however, many co-operative farms
in the Constanta Region, as elsewhere in Rumania,
have introduced payment on the basis not only
of the work done, but also the quantity of produce
obtained. The new form has yielded excellent re-
sults.

Economic consolidation of the co-operative farms
has resulted in a substantial increase in earnings.
The income of many farms runs into millions of lei
and they are able to pay out to their members
large sums in cash in addition to substantial
quantities of farm products. Besides, farm mem-
bers derive income also from their personal plots
and livestock.

The Dobrogea villages have acquired an entirely
new look. Suffice it to mention that more than
33,000 farm families have built modern homes
for themselves. The peasants’ purchasing power
has increased. In 1959 they bought roughly 57
per cent more goods through the co-operative
stores than in 1955. Indicative is the fact that our
peasants now buy manufactured goods they form-
erly could not even dream of. Fifteen years ago
one might have found by combing the villages a
few dozen radio sets, and those in rich peasant
homes. Now more than 25,000 families have radios.
Retail sales of furniture, sewing machines, bicycles
and motorcycles are increasing.

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WORLD MARXIST REVIEW 85

Cultural progress is astonishing. According to the
old bourgeois statistics, 37 per cent of the popula-
tion over seven years of age in the Constanta area
were illiterate, in Tulcea some 46 per cent. Espe-
cially high was the percentage of illiterates among
women. During the years of people’s democratic
government, illiteracy has been wiped out in our
region. The number of schools has increased by
half, and the number of teachers is two and a
half times as great. Hundreds of rural clubs and
libraries and dozens of houses of culture have
been set up. Today there are 360 libraries with
700,000 books in the region, or forty times as many
as in 1938.

In the old Dobrogea diseases like malaria, pel-
lagra and tuberculosis carried away thousands
every year. Today the people’s democratic system
has radically improved the public health service.
As a result of the higher living standard and
medical aid, the general death rate has declined
from 20.8 per thousand in 1938 to 8.1 in 1958, while
child mortality has dropped from 20 to 8 per
cent.

The new conditions of life and work and the
political work conducted by the Party organizations
are gradually reshaping the mentality of the farm-

ers, bringing out in them the new traits charac-
teristic of the builders of socialism. These new
traits are manifested primarily in active partici-
pation in social production and in conscious efforts
to strengthen and develop public property. The
collective farms help one another by pooling
their experience in organizing work, in building
and in using modern methods. Members of lead-
ing farms often visit backward ones to render
practical assistance in eliminating shortcomings.

A regional seed fund, from which loans are
made to co-operative farms that have suffered
from natural calamities, has been established on
the initiative of the farmers themselves.

Our peasants are increasingly coming to see
for themselves that collectivization enables the ru-
ral working folk, with the fraternal assistance of
the working class and under the leadership of
the Party, to win from nature everything they
need to satisfy their requirements, and makes for
a steady improvement in the well-being of the
nation as a whole.

Vasile VILCU,
First Secretary,
Constanta Regional Committee,
Rumanian Workers’ Party

Uranium 235 and Bonn’s “Loyalty”
to Its Treaties

(Letter from a Reader)

N October the shares of Degussa, the German

gold and silver refining concern, soared on the
Frankfurt stock exchange by more than 300
points inside of 24 hours.

This extraordinary rise was due neither to any
increase in demand for the precious metals nor
the discovery of some new, magic properties in
gold, but rather to expectations of huge U.S. orders
for a commodity of a completely different kind.
What set it off was the news reaching the United
States that Degussa was patonting a gas centri-
fuge for obtaining Uranium 235 with 90 per cent
less expenditure of electric power than hitherto.
The West-German electrical concern AEG was
also interested in the device and wanted a hand
in the affairs of Degussa.

How specialists in gold came to turn out a
device like this is, of course, a closely guarded
secret. It is known, however (and even Degussa
does not conceal this) that work in this direction
was begun six years ago when the ink had not
yet dried on Adenauer’s signature to a document
in which he pledged himself not to permit any-
thing of the kind.

It will be remembered that in October 1954
Adenauer signed an undertaking in Paris that
Federal Germany would not produce atomic, chem-
ical or biological weapons, means for their deliv-
ery, or fissile materials, of which Uranium 235 is
one. These were the so-called guarantees the ad-
vocates of the Paris Agreements cited in the West
European parliaments and before world public
opinion to “prove’’ that the danger of a militarist
and revanchist revival in Germany which the
Communists and other peace supporters warned
against, was nothing but a “figment of the imagi-
nation” and a ‘‘malicious fabrication.”

But perhaps the agreements were violated
against the wishes of the Adenauer government?
Certainly not. On the contrary, there was an out-
burst of glee in Bonn when the possibility of pro-
ducing ‘‘cheap’’ atom bombs first appeared. Only
after critical voices were heard in the West did
Bonn try to minimize the significance of the de-
velopment, declaring that the gas centrifuge was
not being manufactured, and that Degussa in gen-
eral does not make machines.

86 WORLD MARXIST REVIEW

Yet one cannot help but ask: why was this
allegedly unimportant matter declared a Federal
German “state secret’? And if Degussa does not
manufacture machines, why did the chairman of
its board declare in his report for February 1960
that the construction of atomic reactors and manu-
facture of “corresponding equipment’’ “offers
grounds for optimism and hope’? The answer is
simple: the work was done at a subsidiary plant
built specially for the purpose and camouflaged
behind a signboard of a precious metals refining
firm.

How did it happen that for so many years these
unquestionably extensive operations remained un-
noticed by the Western European Union control
bodies for which provision was made in the
Paris Agreements? Here again the answer is easy.
There are no control bodies. Although the West-
ern European Union agreement was ratified by its
member-states, the Federal German government
has not enacted the legislation on control envisaged
in the treaty. No such bill has ever been before
the Bundestag. When it wants to, the Adenauer
government is able to rush legislation through
the Bundestag in a matter of days — as in the
case of remilitarization and nuclear armament —
but for six years now it has been unable to find
the time to debate a law on control. Incidentally,
this did not prevent it from rejecting. in its Note
of October 19, 1960, the charges of militarism and
revanchism made against it at the United Nations,
or from declaring that in conformity with the Paris
Agreements the Federal Republic had “restricted
armament production in far greater measure than
any other European country; it announced its
readiness to allow Western European Union con-
trol bodies systematically to verify fulfilment of
this point. . .”

Whom, indeed, do the Bonn swindlers hope to
fool? It is clear to all that for the German
imperialists a treaty is simply a scrap of paper,
or a “dud,”’ as a spokesman of the Adenauer gov-
ernment qualified the Potsdam Agreement during

the legal proceedings to ban the Communist Party
of Germany. The Degussa business has proved
this once again. And there is other proof as well.

The inventors of the deadly Zyklon-B gas who
were convicted in Nuremberg as war criminals
are now working for I.G. Farbenindustrie making
“improved” nerve gases. In violation of the Paris
Agreements the MAK Works in Bremen, a sub-
sidiary of the Stinnes concern, is putting out an
experimental series of a new, 35-ton variant of
the Tiger tank. The new tank has been developed
by a group of designers headed by Dr. Porsche
who “distinguished” themselves bv helping Hitler
prolong the last war. At the same time the Federal
German naval chiefs, ignoring the military re-
strictions, are placing orders for 6,000-ton war-
ships and working on designs for atom-powered
marine engines for the navy.

Those who are acquainted with the history of
German militarism and its war preparations will
find nothing new or surprising in the latest devel-
opments. Yet there is a new element. It is that,
as a result of the experience of two world wars
and the impression made by the growing strength
of the socialist camp, there are forces in West
Germany today who are watching German militar-
ism more vigilantly than any commissions of the
Western European Union. The workers, techni-
cians and engineers who do not want their labor
and the fruit of their researches harnessed to
German revanchism are helping us to rip the
veil of secrecy from the war preparations. They
are fighting shoulder to shoulder with us for dis-
armament and relaxation of international tension,
to frustrate the sinister designs of German mili-
tarism. For all of us the guarantee of peace and
security in Europe is not in treaties like the Paris
Agreements with the German imperialists, but
in combating German militarism, in curbing it
by concluding a peace treaty.

O. BARTKE

Frankfurt-am-Main

eraer Ve ome tl

ane

WORLD MARXIST REVIEW 87

Against the Persecution of Democrats

SAVE THE LIVES OF PORTUGUESE PATRIOTS

HE Secretariat of the Central Committee of

the Communist Party of Portugal has issued
an appeal to the people of the country and to all
democrats in defense of Francisco Miguel, a mem-
ber of the Central Committee and Portuguese
national hero, and his comrades.

For more than twenty years Francisco Miguel
has been in prison for upholding his ideas and
loving his country and his people. An ordinary
worker, Miguel joined the Party nearly thirty
years ago. Arrested time and again by the Salazar
authorities, he has experienced the horrors of the
Tarrafal concentration camp and been tortured in
the fascist dungeons in Peniche and Caxias.

Manuel Rodrigues da Silva, also a member of
the Central Committee and a prominent trade
union leader, is another political prisoner. For ten
years, from 1936 to 1946, he was held without triai
in the Tarrafal concentration camp. In 1950 he
was re-arrested and sentenced to four years im-
prisonment. His term expired long ago but still
he has not been released.

Manuel Guedes fought against fascism in Spain.
Caught by Franco, he was turned over to Salazar
and spent five years in prison. In 1952 he, too,
was re-arrested and sentenced to four years’ im-
prisonment. This is already his eighth year in the
Peniche fortress.

In 1957 Jose Magro, a member of the Central
Committee of the Communist Party, was released
after six years in prison, but last year he was
re-arrested and sentenced to another ten years.
Afonso Gregorio, Sofia Ferreira and Carlos Aboim
Ingles, all members of the Central Committee,
have also been thrown in prison.

Some months ago the political police arrested
Julio Fogaca, a member of the Central Committee,

MEXICO: ANTICOMMUNISM

TURING his visit to South America President
LY lLonez Mateos of Mexico gave official assur-
ances that no one was in prison for political rea-
sons in his country. Yet at that very time there
were 60 political prisoners in Mexican prisons,
among them Graciano Benitez and Ignacio Guz-
man, who are serving a five-year sentence for
“demoralizing society.” The National Congress for
Freedom for Political Prisoners and Defence of
Constitutional Guarantees which brought more than
150 delegates together in Mexico confirmed that

and Candida Ventura, an active Communist who
from early youth has dedicated herself to the fight
against the fascist dictatorship. Julio Fogaca, an
indefatigable freedom fighter, has twice been sen-
tenced to imprisonment in Tarrafal. Of his 53 years
he has spent ten in the dungeons of the political
police and for eighteen years he worked in the
difficult conditions of the underground. His health
has been undermined and, in the hands of the
Salazar butchers, his life is in danger.

Fifteen women patriots arrested for political
reasons are being held in the Caxias fortress. Sev-
eral of them are are Communists. Deprived of
medical aid, they too are in grave danger.

The people of Portugal are more and more vigor-
ously demanding an amnesty for the political pris-
oners. The movement has acquired such a scale,
and the discontent over the growing repressions
is so widespread that even some bourgeois papers
have called for an amnesty. For instance, the
Diario Popular, which usually supports the Salazar
government, wrote in its September 13 issue: “An
amnesty putting an end to the alarm and anxiety
that grip many families would be a high-minded
and noble act, a truly Christian step, which would
find a deep response in the hearts of all Portu-
guese.”’

The Communist Party calls on all democrats to
protest against the brutal treatment and to demand
an immediate amnesty for all political prisoners
and emigres. It urges all supporters of peace and
democracy to rise to their defence and to send
protests to the President of the Republic, members
of the government, Portuguese embassies, and the
Red Cross.

Manuel ALVES

IS THE WAY TO FASCISM

trampling on constitutional rights is tynical of
present-day political life in Mexico. For instance,
during a teachers’ demonstration in the capital on
August 4, the police resorted to firearms. Nearly
500 people were wounded and over 250 arrested.

In an attempt to suppress democracy, the gov-
ernment is whipping up anti-communist hysteria
and preparing to frame the Mexican Communist
Party. It obediently follows the directives of U.S.
Ambassador Hill, who has conducted negotiations
with the scum of Mexican society concerning the

88 WORLD MARXIST REVIEW

financing of an anti-communist congress and who
has had a hand in organizing these into an “‘anti-
communist party.”

The arrest of D. A. Siqueiros, the famous artist
and member of the Political Commission of the
Central Committee of the Communist Party, is
part of the anti-democratic campaign. Siqueiros,
whose work is the pride of all Mexicans, has been
committed to trial on the ridiculous charges of
“demoralizing society,” illegal possession of arms,
and insulting and resisting the authorities. Siquei-
ros’ work has been barred from the inter-American
exhibition and government stooges have demanded
that it be destroyed and banned from reproduction
in the press.

Unable to refute the charge that it has become
a satellite of the North American imperialists, the
government decided to silence Siqueiros by throw-
ing him in prison.

President J. M. Velasco Ibarra of Ecuador, the
Chilean public leader Salvador Allende, the Italian
script writer Cesare Zavatini, Pablo Picasso, the
Berlin Academy of Arts, the University of Brazil,
the Union of Czechoslovak Writers, the All-China
Artists’ Union, the poets Pablo Neruda and Rafael
Alberti, the U.S. writer Waldo Frank and hundreds
of other organizations and prominent personalities
have demanded the immediate release of Siqueiros.
The veteran Mexican journalist, Filomeno Mata
Alatorre, is among those who were arrested to-
gether with Siqueiros. Some months ago the Com-
munist V. Campa was thrown into prison.”

“*The democrats of whom we wrote in No. 3, 19%0, of our
journal are still in prison. In protest against arbitrary ac-

tions of the authorities those still in prison have gone on
hunger strikes.

REIGN OF TERROR IN THE

TT'HE reactionaries have launched a violent of-
1 fensive against democratic freedoms and civil
rights in the United Arab Republic and especially
in its Syrian region. Anyone voicing dissatisfaction
with the existing state of affairs is declared an
enemy of Arab nationalism and branded either as
an “agent of imperialism” or as an “agent of
communism.” Dissenters are deprived of citizen-
ship rights and thrown out of jobs.

Police dragnets have become common, often
with the appearance of political leaflets as the
pretext. There have been instances when the po-
lice have raided religious services and searched
everybody present. In the last two years thous-
ands in Egypt and Syria have been arrested with-
out warrants and thrown into prison for months
and even years without trial.

The reactionaries are saying that only the Com-
munists are subjected to repressions. Actually,
however, the police persecute workers, peasants,

The Mexican rulers are engineering an anti-
communist trial with a view to silencing the op-
position. Senator M. Moreno Sanchez has an-
nounced that the Senate will soon begin investigat-
ing “Red” activities in government and semi-
official institutions. “McCarthyism,” he said, ‘“‘is
feared only by those with a guilty conscience.
Only witches are afraid of witch-hunts.” This
Mexican McCarthy invoked, for demagogic pur-
poses, “the Mexican mode of thinking and living,
which is the freest, most dignified, most profound
and, finally, most humanely revolutionary of all
at the present time.” Current developments in
Mexico show best of all what this “love of free-
dom” and “revolutionary spirit” of the govern-
ment are worth. The way of life which it seeks to
impose on the country is the regime that the
North American monopolies forced on the people
of the USA during the cold war. It is not fortuitous
that this coincides with plans to revise labor legis-
lation with a view to curtailing still more the right
to strike, after the pattern of the Taft-Harley
Act.

All Mexican democrats, all those who cherish the
national dignity and honor of their countrv, should
heed these words of the Communist Party:

“The danger of a regime of police terror, law-
lessness and despotism hangs over the country.

. . The new repressions primarily accord with
the policy and interests of North American im-
perialism and the spokesmen of black reaction
at home.”

H. LARA

UNITED ARAB REPUBLIC

students, trade unionists, writers and journalists
who are remote from communism. Manv political
leaders occupying prominent posts in Svria are
under constant surveillance. Ba’athists are being
discharged from the civil service. Zehni Housseini,
secretary of the Chamber of Agriculture in Homs,
who criticized some aspects of the official agricul-
tural policy in a public lecture. was arrested and
thrown into prison in Mezze. In Sentember 1960,
scores of Damascus University students were ar-
rested and subjected to torture merelv because
they expressed disagreement with the latest gov-
ernment decrees. Several leaders of the Kurd Demo-
cratic Party were arrested at the end of October.

Police brutality towards prisoners surpasses the
horrors of the Inquisition. According to Abdel
Karim al-Mouhallamé, who managed to regain his
freedom, prisoners are beaten mercilessly. Mos-
lems, he said, were flogged even during the Ra-
madan celebration, and Christians at Easter. The

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WORLD MARXIST REVIEW 89

methods used defy the imagination. The jailors
are utterly brutalized types. Prisoners are usually
interrogated at night, and are beaten to a bloody
pulp with iron rods and with leather whips soaked
in water. Those who do not break down are bas-
tinadoed, doused alternately wtih cold and hot
water, and forced to kneel or walk barefoot on
sharp stones. The favorite pastime of the inter-
rogators is to make prisoners run the gauntlet of
a shower of blows. Jailors amuse themselves by
crushing lighted cigarettes against the victim’s
face or sex organs, setting fire to mustaches, hang-
ing people by their feet, and pulling out fingernails.
“Every day a new torture is introduced,” we
read in the newspaper Al-Akhbar of January 31
about the methods used in a UAR prison. “Once
they used a sharp-pointed stick which they jabbed
into the stomach of the prisoner until it was red
with blood.”

The secret police have added to the old methods
of torture new ones taken over from the Nazis.
Prisoners are put under a shower with electric
current passed through the water. Often the tor-
ture takes place in front of relatives. Parents
have been forced to listen to tape recordings of
their children’s cries for help and the sound of
blows falling on naked flesh.

A worker named Rateb Joubna, from Homs,
describes a night of horror he spent in the hands
of the secret police: ‘The torturers brought me
into the room at six o’clock. There were a number
of them, headed by Sami Joumaa and his aide
Abou Abhmed el Jahch. They stripped me naked
and forced me to drink a glass of bitterly salty
water and swallow a reddish pill, after which I had
violent pains in the stomach. Then, until eleven
o’clock at night, with only three breaks in be-
tween, I was caned on the soles of my feet, and
from time to time I was forced to get up and
run around the room.’’ Rateb Joubna was subject-
ed to a “combined’’ torture consisting of flogging
on the back, legs, feet and fingers at once. ‘“‘After
this ‘combined’ torture,” he goes on, “I was
thrown down on an iron bench with sharp stones
imbedded in it. Each time I tried to shift my
position to ease the pain, the stones cut into the
flesh and blows laid me out again on the bench. . .
Then they beat me on the soles of my feet,
pressed lighted cigarettes against my body, tore
at me with pincers, and drove needles under my
fingernails. . . .”

If the reactionaries believe that such savagery
will force the people to submit, their hopes are in
vain. Many patriots have sacrificed their lives,
demonstrating the resolve of the people and their
vanguard to carry the fight on to victory. The first
on this list of martyrs was 24-year-old Said Drou-
by.

Said Drouby was a school teacher in Homs. Dur-
ing the independent Syrian Republic he was a
member of the Popular Resistance Movement.
He was arrested early in February 1959 in front
of his class and died after five days of torture.
His body was thrown outside his parents’ home.
Popular indignation ran high and a protest demon-
stration of 25,000 people took place. To conceal
their crime, the authorities claimed Drouby had
committed suicide, but the doctors they called in
to substantiate this version confirmed that death
had been due to torture. For this one of the doctors
was thrown into prison.

A student named Georges Adass, who had never
taken part in political activity or belonged to any
party, was buried to his neck in sand and rocks
With his chest crushed in, he was taken to his
parents’ home, where he died. Mouhiddine Falli-
oune, teacher of Arab literature in a secondary
school in Damascus who headed a tenants’ com-
mittee in the suburb of Mezze was shot dead in his
home by the political police, because of his public
activities. Another victim was Dr. Farid Haddad,
in connection with whose death the Lebanese news-
paper Al-Akhbar published the following letter
on January 3, 1960: ‘‘Dr. Farid Haddad died on
the morning of November 29 in the Al-Kharija pri-
son, two days after being tortured by the political
police of the Ministry of Home Affairs. . . . He
could only be charged with having a practice in
the Cairo working-class district of Chebra where
he gave medical help to workers, trade unionists
and ‘subversive and suspicious elements’ . . . The
police demanded a complete list of the names and
addresses of his patients, but he refused. . . . His
jailors beat him with canes and bludgeons, pulled
out his fingernails, hung him by his feet and kicked
him in this position. As a result Haddad died of
haemorrhage of the brain.”

The police outdid themselves in brutality when
Farajallah Hélou, the Lebanese patriot and Sec-
retary of the Central Committee of the Lebanese
Communist Party who is held in high esteem in
Syria as well, fell into their hands. He was arrested
in a Damascus street on June 25, 1959, and thrown
into prison despite his age, ill health, and the fact
that he is a citizen of another country. The full
story of his ordeal is still not known, because he
is isolated from the outside world and the news
that seeps through is contradictory. In February
1960 a Lebanese newspaper published the story
of a man who had been in the dungeons of
the secret police and had witnessed the shocking
circumstances of Comrade Hélou’s interrogation.
“The group that questioned Hélou,”’ the paper
reports, ‘‘consisted of thirty men devoid of con-
science and experienced in the ‘art’ of interroga-
tion. Hélou was stripped naked and flogged until
his body turned into bleeding pulp, then cold water

90 WORLD MARXIST REVIEW

was thrown over him and the beating resumed. . . .
In spite of the inhuman suffering he replied to
his torturers with scorn and hatred. Becoming
even more savage, they passed a 120-volt current
through his body time after time (it is said that
he was once tortured with electric current for three
hours on end), then the beating started again.
Unable to force a word from him, the police
pumped air into his stomach and kicked him,
causing internal injuries. Only the fear that he
might die on their hands made them discontinue
the torture.’’ Many sources indicate that Farajal-
lah Hélou is being tortured continually.

Despite the terror the militant spirit of the work-
ing people of the UAR remains undimmed. They

McCARTHYISM IN

RESIDENT Frondizi’s repudiation of his pledge
to implement a democratic program has
helped to lay the country open to military coups
and recurrent government “‘crises,’’ and has
strengthened the hand of the ultra-reactionary
sections of the military, who have become the
actual government of the country. This, together
with the growing economic, diplomatic and mili-
tary subordination of the government to the U.S.
imperialist diktat, has led to a new reactionary
offensive and a wave of terror. In the recent
period a number of draconic laws have been pass-
ed against democrats and patriots fighting for
national independence, progress and peace.

The activities of the Communist Party were
banned early in 1959 and later legal proceedings
were instituted to “dissolve” it. Inasmuch as some
of the judges ruled against dissolution, the govern-
ment issued a special decree on the eve of the
March 27, 1960, elections barring the Communist
and Peronist parties from the polls. At the same
time, the President invoked the so-called KON-
INTES Plan (a program to be implemented in the
event of a state of emergency). The civil authori-
ties were subordinated to the military, courts
martial instituted, and censorship and even the
death penalty introduced.

An idea of the scale of the police terror may
be gained from the fact that on March 16 some
1,200. steel-helmeted police supported by tanks
and machine guns surrounded the Los Perales and
General Belgrano districts in Buenos Aires and
raided more than 1,600 homes.

In June the government enacted an extraordi-
nary law for the “‘suppression of terrorism,’”’ and
the authorities are using it widely to suppress the
growing democratic and anti-imperialist movement.
Hundreds have been convicted by the military
courts on the basis of this law.

are stepping up the resistance and defending their
rights with growing determination. This is evident
from the action taken by Haleb textile workers last
August against unlawful dismissals, the signatures
collected by machine-shop workers in El] Djezirah
to a petition demanding work and continuation of
wages, and the fight waged by dockers in Latakia
and building workers in Hama against police inter-
ference in trade union affairs. The popular move-
ment in defense of the democrats and patriots
who represent the vanguard of our people and voice
their desire for independence, freedom and _pro-
gress, is steadily growing.

Said MAHMOUD

THE ARGENTINE

In recent times, the government has taken re-
prisals against the movement for solidarity with
the Cuban revolution, arresting and throwing into
prison many of its leaders and active members,
among them Fernando Nadra. Despite this the
movement is growing steadily.

To leave no doubt as to its reactionary aims,
the government appointed in October, in connec-
tion with the latest military coup, a “commission
to investigate Communist activity’’ consisting of
officials of the Ministry of Defense and the police.
This was followed by the closure for several days
of the bourgeois newspaper La Razon and the
arrest of its director. The police made numerous
raids and arrested hundreds of Communists and
other progressives, among them the trade union
leaders Pedro Chiaranti and Jose Brandeburgo,
and the former Buenos Aires councillor Luis Fiori.
A drive was started against Marxist, progressive
and anti-imperialist literature, which was confiscat-
ed from both private libraries and bookshops. That
this offensive is inspired by U.S. imperialism is
shown by the recent exposure in Parliament of
the fact that the country’s security organs are
controlled by a U.S. Colonel Swenson, an FBI
man.

The majority of the people are opposed to the
anti-national and anti-popular police of the govern-
ment. This is evident from the considerable growth
of the influence of the Public Councils in Defense
of Democracy functioning throughout the country.
These councils, whose aim is to defend political
sovereignty and democracy, include representatives
of the various democratic parties, trade unions
and organizations of students and _ professional
workers. On October 28, in defiance of the police
terror, a mass meeting in defense of political pris-
oners was held at a Buenos Aires stadium under
the auspices of a number of trade unions. Promi

~ a hea =

os

e

WORLD MARXIST REVIEW 91

nent actors and entertainers appeared before the
audience of thousands and the proceeds from the
sale of tickets went for aid to political prisoners
and their families. Consolidation and broadening of
united action of the working class and the entire

people can halt the government offensive and
ensure the triumph of the ideas of national inde-
pendence, democracy and peace.

J. CASTRO

NEW BOOKS

(Books are printed in the language of the country of publication;
the titles here are given in English)

V. I. Lenin. Collected Works. Vol. I, 1893-94. Mos-
cow, Foreign Languages Publishing House, 1960,
543 pp. (In English)

M. I. Mikhailov. The Communist League—the First
International Organization of the Proletariat.
Moscow, the USSR Academy of Sciences Pub-
lishing House, 1960, 371 pp.

I. Sin. Co-operative Farming on 250,000 Holds.
Budapest, Kossuth konyvkiado, 1960, 188 pp.

Economics of Czechoslovak Agriculture. Symposi-
um. Prague, Statni nakladatelstvi politicke
literatury, 1960, 632 pp.

Distribution of the Productive Forces in the Period
of the Comprehensive Building of Communism.
Institute of Economics, USSR Academy of
Sciences. Moscow, Gosplanizdat, 1960, 336 pp.

The Economy of Modern India. Institute of Orien-
tal Studies, USSR Academy of Sciences. Mos-
cow, Oriental Literature Publishing House,
1960, 430 pp.

I. Cox. Empire Today. London, Lawrence & Wish-
art, 1960, 64 pp.

J. Langr. Federal German Economy under Mono-
poly Yoke. Changes in West German Industry
and Foreign Trade after the Second World War.
Prague, Nakladatelstvi Ceskoslovenske Akade-
mie ved, 1960, 219 pp.

V. G. Afanasyev. Foundations of Marxist Philoso-
phy. A Popular Textbook. Moscow, Socekgiz,
1960, 351 pp.

H. Ramirez Necochea. History of Imperialism in
Chile. Santiago, Editora Austral, 1960, 304 pp.

Javorka, J. Berenyi. Incomes in Addition to
Wages. Budapest, Kossuth konyvkiado, 1960,
317 pp.

J. Gardner. Key Questions for Trade Unionists.
London, Lawrence & Wishart, 1960, 72 pp.

ice)

The National Front of Democratic Germany in the
Struggle for Unity, Freedom, Democracy and
Socialism. Collection of Articles. Berlin, Kon-
gress-Verlag, 1960, 136 pp.

Peruvianize Peru. Materials and resolutions of the
Third National Conference of the Peruvian
Communist Party. Lima, 1960, 80 pp.

G. Willard. The ‘Phony War’ and the Vichy Treason
(September 1939-June 1941). Paris, Editions
Sociales, 1960, 176 pp.

P. Scholz. Problems of Co-operative Law. Berlin,
Deutscher Zentralverlag, 1960, 192 pp.

J. Marinello. Revolution and the University. Havana,
1960, 27 pp.

C. Cusnir-Mihailovici. Rumanian Working-Class
Movement in 1917-21. The Founding of the Com-
munist Party. Bucharest, Editura Politica,
1960, 352 pp.

WORLD MARXIST REVIEW 93

SUPPLEMENT

to World Marxist Review,
Problems of Peace and Socialism

January, 1961

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
OF THE SOCIALIST COUNTRIES

(Statistical Data)

e@ GENERAL

@ INDUSTRY

@ AGRICULTURE

@ RISE IN LIVING AND CULTURAL STANDARDS

WORLD MARXIST REVIEW

From the Editors

HE main content of our times is the

transition from capitalism to socialism.
initiated by the Great October Socialist Revo-
lution. Over one-third of mankind has taken
the socialist road. The new, socialist world
system is growing and gaining in strength.

Utilizing the advantages of the socialist
mode of production and engaging in close
co-operation, mutual aid and support, the
people of the socialist countries have in a
brief space of time made remarkable headway
in all spheres of economic, cultural and
political life. They have carried through
far-reaching socio-economic reforms. Signal
progress has been made in industry and agri-
culture. A cultural and technological revolu-
tion, the greatest in the history of these
countries, is underway. The rapid expansion
of social production provides a sound basis
for the steady rise in living standards.

This progress is proof of the resilience of
the ideas of Marxism-Leninism. As N. S.
Khrushchov said in his report to the USSR
Supreme Soviet session on May 5, 1960, “the
strength and vitality of every social system

are determined in the first place by its ability
to advance social production, science and
technology, raise labor productivity and in
this way ensure satisfaction of the growing
material and cultural requirements of society
as a whole and of each of its members.”
The socialist countries are working in
friendship and close co-operation to overcome
the discrepancies in the levels of economy
and culture, and the conditions are being
created for their more or less simultaneous
transition from socialism to communism.

The progress recorded in all spheres is
illustrated by the data compiled from Official
statistics by the Institute of Economics of the
Soviet Academy of Sciences (People’s De-
mocracies Department) .

The data were compiled by I. P. Oleinik
G. B. Gertsovich, Y. A. Konovalov, Y. N.
Belyayev, I. A. Sotnikova, E. D. Matviyev-
skaya, M. Y. Volchenko, A. Y. Skvortsova,
E. S. Rayevskaya, N. V. Sokolova, V. I. Sha-
bunina, Y. V. Firsova, V. D. Vasiltsov, M. N.
Yumin, Y. I. Zharkov and V. S. Tandit. The
research was carried out under the supervi-
sion of I. P. Oleinik and G. B. Gertsovich.

WORLD MARXIST REVIEW 95

I. GENERAL DATA

Area and Population*

Area TCnilhons) (ioc “Gee
Country (thousand sq. km.) At End of 1959 Country sq. km.) at end of 1959
Total 34,834.0 993.7! Rumanian
Including: People’s Republic 237.5 18.4
Union of Soviet Socialist People’s Republic _ _— .
Republics 22,402.2 212.3 of Bulgaria 110.9 7.8
Chinese . People’s Republic a5 peace
People’s Republic 9,597.0 656.67 of Albania 28.7 1.6
Polish People’s Korean People’s - about
Republic | ore 311.7 29.5 Democratic Republic 127.1 10.0
Czechoslovak Socialist Democratic Republic _ _ ~1e
_ Republic 127.9 13.6 of Vietnam _ 159.0 15.9
German Democratic re Ea i
Republic 107.8 17.3 Mongolian sais
RE a a eople’s abou
go —* “a ~— Republic 1,531.5 1.0
1. End of 1957. 2. End of 1957; excluding emigrants and Chinese nationals residing in Hongkong and Macao.
Countries are listed according to their share in the output of basic items. Elsewhere names of the socialist countries will

tt be given in full. The Korean People’s Republic will be designa ited as

nam as Vietnam.

In 1959 the socialist countries embraced 26 per
cent of the territory of the world and nearly one-
third of its population and accounted for more
than one-third of the world industrial output and
about half the world output of grain.

By 1965, with the completion of the Soviet Union’s
Seven-Year Plan, and because of the rapid rate of

North Korea and the Democratic Republic of Viet-

economic expansion obtaining in the People’s De-
mocracies, the socialist countries will be produc-
ing more than half of the world industrial output.
This will ensure the superiority of socialism over
capitalism in material production — the decisive
sphere of human endeavor.

96 WORLD MARXIST REVIEW

Share of the Socialist Countries in World Output
of Basic Industrial Items (per cent)

Items 1929 1937 1950 1955 1956 1957 1959
Coal (in terms of hard coal)
All socialist countries 27 4286 282 £368 °° #376 39.5 49.8
USSR z [| 6 62 #87 ## 6a 22 20.3
5 Ee : .. E:. a T.-M ne a...
All socialist countries 6.7 102 84 #2110 iy 6h hUhSe.hUlC<i«é‘<C
USSR — 7 m2 7 ef 68 13.2.
Electric power iin Pe ine a or ce es se
All socialist countries — Hl 7s )06O COS 063= lt es 06C CCC
USSR 2.1 a) | ee | oe) oe Oe
Pig iron a ieee as ne > 3",
All socialist countries 4.1 140 185 246 258 260 #355
USSR 4.1 140 146 °}&17.5. 18.0 17.7. #196
Steel gt aa sae gic i we _wny
All socialist countries 4.0 13.1 192 233 245 252 £309
USSR 40 4131 144 °+#&2168 17.2 17.5 19.7
Tractors (in 15 h.p. units) ‘at ia vice: | 7 Z
All socialist countries 1.6 168 272 231 #£+279 °&#«2©3286 °# 29.91
USSR 16 §©168 32 «6 Cisc60UC<“C TOCUC(<‘(“ HS CULT
Cement pee oa ** ns -
All socialist countries 3.1 Ss ty hr 7 se §6s
USSR 3.1 -.-.hUCCTlltChlC(‘<‘iCT)6hlUhClCUL
Cotton fabrics ii: ie ian Le oe) ie
All socialist countries — 88 213 281 #429 «4.284 °®#350
USSR —_ 88 106 127 #4116 #=118 128.
Granulated sugar ‘ —_ tetas
All socialist countries 3.2 Ss = 3s 77 3 #=x‘2 # m7
USSR 3.2 86 7.7 £4289 °102 9.9 13.1.

1. 1958.

The share of the socialist countries in 40 per cent of cotton fiber (4.2 per cent in
world agricultural output has likewise risen. 1928), nearly 20 per cent of the world beef
In 1959 they accounted for 47 per cent of the and dairy cattle and 55 per cent of the hogs.

world output of grain (10.6 per cent in 1929),

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WORLD MARXIST REVIEW 97

Share of the Socialist Sector in the Economy in 1959-60

(per cent)

In In Agriculture In Trade In National
Country Industry (aravie land) Wholesale Retail Income
USSR 100.0 99.9 100.0 100.0 99.99
China! 100.0 99.12 100.0 98.38 99.0
Poland 99.1 13.2 100.0 965 71.5
Czechoslovakia 100.0 85.2 100.0 | 99.9 93.0
German Democratic Republic 88 9 96.0¢ _—_—:100.0 75.3 76.3
Hungary 93.6 71.34 100.0 98.9 82.0
Rumania 98.0 81.34 100.0 99.6 83.5
Bulgaria 98.9 97.4 100.0 99.9 97.2
Albania 98.3 86.0 100.0 87.5 —_—
North Korea 100.0 100.0 100.0 99.9 99.9
North Vietnam 80.5° 72.74 89.0 91.53 —
Mongolia 100.0 99.76 100.00 100.0 —

1, Data for 1958, 2. Number of peasant households. 3. Including state-capitalist sector. 4. In June 1960; North Vietnam—in
October 1960, 5. Excluding handicraft industry. 6. According to the number of arat households.

II. INDUSTRY

Volume of Industrial Output in 1959 Dynamics of Industrial Production
Per cent of Per cent of (per cent)
sen roti Ad Socialist countries Capitalist ies
Overall 603 317 “(uahin present = Gaithin praseat,
judi Year boundaries) boundaries)

Including
USSR 48-fold 275 = 100 100

. 1950 190 147
China 1285 949

1951 224 160

Poland 680 303
Czechoslovaki 362 259 1952 256 163
ses ke 1953 291 175

Republic 299 271 1954 325 176
Hungary 377 239 1955 361 197
Rumania 434 294 1965 403 206
Bulgaria 1083 350 1957 444 214
Albania 2248 542 1958 520 208
North Korea 552 860! 1959 603 225
North Vietnam

(1956 —- 100) 21 _—
Mongolia 584 ~

1. By 1953.

NOTE: In this and the following tables the data in the column “Prewar,’”’ unless otherwise stated, relate for the USSR
to 1910; China and Korean People’s Democratic Republic to 1949; Poland and Czechoslovakia to 1937; the German Democratic
Republic to 1936; Hungary, Rumania and Albania to 1938; Bulgaria to 1939; Democratic Republic of Vietnam to 1939, and Mon-
golian People’s Republic to 190.

he

WORLD MARXIST REVIEW

98
Envisaged Growth Average Annual Rates of Growth
of Industrial Output of Industrial Output in Socialist
and Capitalist Countries in 1951-59
Country Year Growth (per cent)
USSR 1959-1965 80 per a
Socialist Capitalist
Rend ae se ~ __cent — Countries Rates Countries Rates
Poland 1959-1965 80 per All countries 13.7. All countries 4.8
cent ees : —.
ARR TS RE EC aaa 1 1965 _ 56 4 Including: | , : ___Including:
Czechoslovakia 1961- hone USSR" z 119 USA 39
German Demo- 1959-1965. +88 per = China. a ll
cratic Republic cent Poland —————séd..__“France 6.3
Hungary ~—~«21959-1965_ 65-70 +Czechoslovakia 10.8 Federal
percent German Demo- ___Germany 9.4
Rumania. ~—«—»«1960-1965~—«*22.1-fold cratic Republic 11.6 Italy 8.3
North Korea 1961-1967. ~+-2.5-fold. Hungary _ 10.2 Belgium 2.8
North re 7 ae wey o. Rumania — _128 Greece _ 88
Vietnam 1961-1965 148 per Bulgaria _ 144 Sweden 2.5
cent Albania _ wee __ 20.6 Netherlands ; 5.3
Mongolia 1960-1965 twofold North Korea 22.7 India 5.0
Gross Output of Basic Items of Heavy Industry
in the Socialist Countries
(million tons)
1959
Item Prewar 1950 1958 1959 Per cent of Prewar
Electric power (1,000 million kwh.) (84.7 my: 144.6 7 363.1 . 418.2 493 i
Coal (in terms of hard coal) ae 332.1 447.1 957.3 ~ 1052.5 317
C2
Pig-iron 20.3 24.9 60.8 76.9 379
Steel ee 25.4 36.2 7 (80.2 i 92.7 365
Cement 14.5 20.3 61.7 73.3 506

CLO! "DOA! mis

WORLD MARXIST REVIEW 99

Electric Power Output
(1,000 million kwh.)

Share of coun-
tries in socialist

1959, Per cent of world output in
Country Prewar 1950 1958 1959 Prewar 1950 1
Overall 84.7 144.6 365.1 418.2 492 288 100.0
Including: :
USSR 48.3 91.2 235.4 265.1 549 290 }°&#&4633
China 5.961 4.55 27.5 41.5 696 912 10.0
| Poland 3.6 9.4 24.0 26.4 727 +# 280 6.3
| Czechoslovakia 4.1 9.3 19.6 21.9 532 236 5.3
German Democratic Republic 14.0 19.5 34.9 37.2 266 #191 8.9
Hungary 1.4 3.0 6.5 7.1 507 236 i
Rumania 1.1 2.1 a 6.8 604 323 1.6
Bulgaria 0.27 0.8 3.0 39 1455 485 0.9
North Korea —- i se °&‘'s 132 7682 1.9
Albania aa -
North Vietnam } 0.1 0.14 0.4 0.5 424 321 0.1
Mongolia
1. 1941. 2. By 1953.

Per Capita Output of Electric Power (kwh)

1959, Per cent of

Country Prewar 1950 1958 1959 Prewar 1950
USSR 255 507 1138 1260 494 248
China 8.01 a 42 — — 5252
Poland 106 380 833 902 851 237
Czechoslovakia 285 749 1457 1614 566 201
German Democratic aa a
Republic 866 1059 2009 2153 249 204
Hungary 152 320 655 715 470 7
Rumania — me 129.5 342.4 373.8 516 289
Bulgaria 42 110 391 497 1183 452
Albania 9 18 99 109 1225 619
North Korea 631 1323 820 812 129 —
North Vietnam ~ 10.7 — 10.7 13.4 125 —

1. 1949, 2. 1958 per cent of 1949. 3. 1953.

100 WORLD MARXIST REVIEW
Coal Output
(in terms of hard coal, million tons)
Share of
separate
ae
Country Prewar 1950 1958 1959 << tga me. = 1989
Overall 332.1 447.1 957.3 1052.5 317 235 100.0
~ Including:
USSR 153.8 2245 425.0 435.0 365 194 41.4
China aa 42.9 270.0 347.8 562 810 33.0
Poland 36.2 80.4 98.7 103.6 286 129 9.8
Czechoslovakia 27.5 35.0. 60.0 58.7 214 168 5.6
German Democratic _ ee wae Ps aor Aras —
Republic AS fe 48.5 74.6 74.4 200 154 7.1
Hungary ~~ —_— aelCUkrrCctllmlmllmClCUCnOCCOC _—
Rumania= “15 | 6: ae 6 ae 176 0.3
Bulgaria — Zt * st 7 §# £€-£ 261 0.8
fold
North Korea 4.0 0.73 6.9 8.9 2220~—O«13- Sti‘
fold
Albania q ; st
North Vietnam 2.7 0.3 17 2.4 87 8- 0.2
Mongolia J fold
1, 1922. 2 Te terms of heat units (one unit — 7,000 calories). 3. 1953.
Per Capita Output of Coal
(in terms of hard coal, kg.)
Country Prewar 1950 1958 1959 ager silibins 9950
USSR 787 1247 2055 2071 263 166
China —— 60.0! 413 0 £° ¢°&°&°&°&3— _— —_ sa
Poland ——t™* 1095 3238 3430 3542 323 a
Czechoslovakia 1904 — 2822 4447 «4B zz h—m™ltC<C~SSSC
German Democratic aa ee ‘ pas ree
Republic 2302 2637 4296 4303 187 163
Hungary | 493 780 1174 (1188 (241 152
Rumania® — 94 “123 183 . ae — ee
Bulgaria si(‘<i‘séét«dl 8 OC~™” 285 574 ~— 688 lt
Albania =i (aiai‘ié #*é‘é;!” 34 170 183 5229, ti‘<‘é«éi SS
North Korea 434 924 - 2 °° °»&4«z£€ff 212 0° ¢@¢@€¢«¢«¢—
1. 1949. 2. 1958. ner cent of 1949, 3. In terms of heat units (one unit 7,000 calories). 4. 1953.

1

Ps! tol mrt met ome A ee

Coun

Ov

US:
Chi
Pol:
Cze
Ger

R
Hun
Rurr
Bulg
Nort

WORLD MARXIST REVIEW 102

Oil Output (million tons)

Share of separate
countries in socia-

1959, per cent of Hst world output
Country Prewar 1950 1958 1959 Prewar 1950 in 1959
Overall 38.7 44.0 128.5 146.7 __ 385 = 333 _ 100.0 -
Including: ‘ant i as tg As ee
USSR 31.1 379 4.11132 #1296 454 342 88.4

China 03! 0.2 23 3.7 1153 1850 2.5
Poland 05 Oo2 02 02 35108 01

| Czechoslovakia 0.02 01 Ol Ol 683 19 °#£O1.
Rumania 6.6 5.0 — 113. —t~—“‘<‘«‘CzUzCdC 173. —-227 7.8
Hungary 0.04 «= 0.5 08 81 2407. ~=S——s« 202 0.7
Bulgaria — — 0.2 0.2 —_ — 0.1 bi
Albania _- x +& fte at ws 0.3 -
1. 1943,

Per Capita Oil Output (kg.)

1959, per cent of
. Country Prewar 1950 1958 1959 Prewar 1950

USSR 159 210 547 616 387 — 293

China 0.21 —_-_ oc —_ . — nay: 17507
Rumania 422.7 ; 309.4 = a 626.5 148 _ 202 —

Hungary 4.7 55 ; ae ae 221 191

Albania 104 108 268 = 305 294 281

1, 1949, 2, 1958, per cent of 1949.

7 Steel Output (million tons)
Share of separate
countries in socia-
* Country Prewar 1950 1958 1959 eae ine — _ ——
Overall 25.4 36.2 80.2 92.7 365 255 100.0
~ Including: ae, © ae | Se ti Ras Piniue
USSR as 86s 549 60.0 338 219s,
China =. srs O9"—“( tC Oti“<‘<‘<‘<‘«zxK~*‘CASC“‘«t‘«‘i GC 14.4
Poland = =———t—‘<‘t«zwa‘*CS 2.5 5.7 62 420 245 6.7
Czechoslovakia —_— we «55 _ a 197 66
at German Democratic —~ ae 7 it in lia al ies i
Republic 1.2 1.0 3.0 3.2 267 320 3.5

Hungary 0.65 1.0 16 18 #272 42°16 °&2«»:19

Rumania 0.3 0.6 0.9 1.4 499 256 Lo

Bulgaria — — 0.21 @ ~3=©0.23 — — 0.2

North Korea 0.14 0.0042 0.37 0.45 312 ~ 125-fold 0.5

1, 1943, 2. 1953

WORLD MARXIST REVIEW

Per Capita Steel Output (kg.)

Country Prewar 1950 1958 1959 io: cent oto
USSR 94 152 266 285 303 188
China 0.31 sani 12.2 — — 40672
Poland é 42.7 101.3 197 211 494 208
Czechoslovakia 159 250 409 453 285 181
German Democratic Republic 74 ~—s«*#BAN 175 185 251 344
Hungary 70.4 171.8 164.5 177.1 252 158.4
Rumania - 18.2 34.0 51.7 77.7 427 229
Bulgaria — oo 21.2 29.5 —_ _—
North Korea “15 0.5% 39.0 47.0 313 —
1, 1949, 2. 1958, per cent of 1949. 3. 1953.
Pig Iron Output (million tons)
Share of sep-
‘an
1959, Per cent of world output
Country Prewar 1950 1958 1959 Prewar 1950 in 1959
Overall 20.3 24.9 60.8 76.9 379 309 100.0
Including:
USSR 14.9 19.2 39.6 43.0 289 224 55.9
China . 1.81 1.0 95 20.5 1138 2096 26.7
Poland ‘\ 0.8 15 3.9 «4A ~ 553 285 5.7
Czechoslovakia —swis.7 1.9 | ee: ae 218 5.5
German Democratic ae irate caans © =p aaron aaa —
Republic 0.2 0.3 1.8 1.9 9.4- 563 2.5
fold
Hungary 0.3 0.5 a 1.1329 ~ 299 14
Rumania : 0.1 0.3 0.7 °° & «209 638 264 ky
Bulgaria t”™S some —_— — - —_ ee “2
North Korea _ 0.2 — 04 oF 383d — 0.9
1. 1943. 2, Including blast-furnace ferroalloys.
Per Capita Output of Pig Iron (kg.)
1959, Per cent of
Country Prewar 1950 1958 1959 Prewar 1950
USSR 76 106 191 204 268 192
China ns \. “4é6¢-06mCO@CCi—=D — 29202
Czechoslovakia §—sWXwdAd‘'' 157 «422830 £42313 £42698 £1994
German Democratic ae —— Sp huiths a nes
Republic 12 18 102 110 916 611
Hungary — 364 492 1094 1111 3052 225.8
Rumania i“ aeti(‘é‘ié i~S CI9G 408 § 464 546 2370
Bulgaria = #=#—- — nS “wa — —_
North Korea — fs — = —=—téCSe 400 —_
Poland 23 62 134 150 652 242, —

1, 1949, 2. 1958, per cent of 1949,

Ps | ~~ —s

emt am!) eel

12a Dl oiogas

WORLD MARXIST REVIEW 103
Cement Output (million tons)

Share of sep-
arate countries
in socialist
1959, Per cent of world output

Country Prewar 1950 1958 1959 Prewar 1950 in 1959

Overall 14.5 20.3 61.7 hee 506 361 100.0

Including:
USSR 5.7 102 33.3 38.8 705 380 = 552.9
China 2.31 1.4 93 123 4536 870 #424168
Poland : _—
Czechoslovakia is 2 — <+-. oo 237
German Democratic (ne ar lea Da aaaies act aan a, - a
Republic 1.7 1.4 3.6 4.2 249 298 5.7

Hungary s- oe 13 1.4 4440 178 19

_ oo se Ss- sS= § 712
6.5

Rumania 0.5 1.0 2.6 29 #«+SSF 277 #40

— 0.2 06.09 14. 68738
North Korea 0.5 0.027212 19 357, 72-fold 2.6

Albania
North Vietnam } 0.3 ae) 0.4 0.4 133 es 0.5

1, 1942, 2. 1953.

Per Capita Cement Output (kg.)

1959, Per cent of
Country Prewar 1950 1958 1959 Prewar 195

USSR 30 57 161 (184 613 323

China ees. sae = - = 11832
Poland 37.5 101 176 ° ®£«©,182 }§ 485 180

Czechoslovakia 88 161 305 — ~ 350 — 397.7 2174

German Democratic Republic 104 = 77 ~~ 205 3~=— 243 233.6 8315.5 —
Hungary ; ~ 35.1 «4850 ®&«&+'131.7 £41442 £4108 1696 —
Rumania 327 63.0 1424 411564 478 2483
Bulgaria . oC ..mrmrmrmrmMrcCDOrm™CtCtCtCtCSRsts“‘(‘i‘C SS 51llso221.7
Albania 87 131 £4515 £480 551.7 3664 ©
North Korea — eee wee 19 #*.,—UC< =~

1. 1949. 2. 1958, per cent of 1949.

Output of Metal-Cutting Machine Tools (thousands)

Country 1950 1952 1953 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959
USSR 70.6 746 918 117.1 124.0 131.0 138.3 147.1
—_— Ss 27 28 7 25.9 280 50.0 #700
Poland —~—te 3.8 10.5 8.7 | ae Se 19.1 20.5
Czechoslovakia § 129 111 146 °#42«©185 19.0 22.7 zi 86 aS

Bulgaria 04 #02 #03 @&206 #8«04 §06 1013

Rumania# a a iT 2K 29 3.1

North Korea —- = — 03 #10 &42,:10 #4+15 36

1. Excluding machine tools of simple designs. 2. Pre-1954 Cata refer to lathes only.

104

Considerable headway has been made also
in other branches of heavy industry. By 1959
gross output of the machine-building industry
rose as follows: USSR, 276-fold (compared
with 1913); China, nearly 40-fold (in 1949-
1958); Poland, more than 20-fold; German De-
mocratic Republic, 4.2-fold; Czechoslovakia,
nearly sixfold; Hungary, more than ninefold,
and Rumania approximately ninefold (com-
pared with prewar); Bulgaria, 12-fold (from
1949 to 1958), and the Korean People’s De-
mocratic Republic 83-fold (in the period from
1946 to 1959). Machine-building output is ex-
pected to grow at a rapid rate in the current
seven-year period. For instance, in the USSR
it is scheduled to rise twofold; in the German
Democratic Republic, 2.3-fold; Poland, 2.2-
fold; Hungary, 82-86 per cent; Czechoslova-
kiar, 83 per cent (by 1965 compared with
1960); Bulgaria, fivefold (compared with
1957), and in Rumania, 2.2-fold (compared
with 1959).

WORLD MARXIST REVIEW

The chemical industry is playing a steadily
growing role in the economy of the socialist
countries. In 1959 the output of the chemical
and rubber-asbestos industries in the USSR
had increased 140-fold (compared with 1913);
in China 25.8-fold by 1957 (compared with
1949) and in 1958 was more than double the
1957 figure; in Poland it increased 12-fold;
Hungary, sevenfold, and the German Demo-
cratic Republic, 4.6-fold (compared with pre-
war); in Rumania the 1959 output was 9.5
times the 1938 level, and in the Korean Peo-
ple’s Democratic Republic it rose 11-fold com-
pared with 1946.

A number of socialist countries, notably
the USSR, the German Democratic Republic
and Czechoslovakia, have developed on a wide
scale new branches of chemical production,
such as plastics, artificial and synthetic fibers
and leather substitutes.

The rapid expansion of heavy industry is
accompanied by a growth of light industry
and the food industry.

Output of Cotton Fabrics (million square meters)

1959, Per cent of
Country Prewar 1950 1958 1959 Prewar 1950
USSR! 3004 2991 4651 4978 166 166
Chinaz — —_ st °° °@© 7 7.5 2.69 298
Poland «3254 402 ~ 550 - §94 = 148
Czechoslovakia ~ 353 = 333 s—ts«209 429 122,129
German Democratic Republic® — 154 308 340 — 221
Hungary sss 146 TT 3s 227 149 ~—:123
Rumania 104 “148° = 207s 2:18 210 ~=— 148
Bulgaria se 67 #~«©}3©6145——“‘<‘«~zT”t*é«@G lO
Albania 0.3 10 ~—«:18.0 19 60-fold —_23-fold
North Korea* ~ 94 20.88 91 125 13-fold 600 —
North Vietnam ee 26 30 — a
1. Unbleached cotton fabrics. 2. In 1,000 million meters, 3. 1936. 4. In millions of meters. 5. Excluding upholstery and

1953.

lecorative fabrics. 6.

WORLD MARXIST REVIEW 105

Per Capita Output of Cotton Fabrics (square meters)

Country Presas 1950 1958 1959 F cs al cent ¢.

USSR 15.8 16.6 22.5 23.7 150 143

China! 3.52 ~— 8.7 ~— ons 2498

Poland! 9.54 16.2 ~~ 19.1 20.3 — 15
Czechoslovakia 24.5% 269 304. 316 129 117 |
German Democratic Republic — 8.4 (178 19.7 — 234 |
Hungary 159 188. 22.1 22.8 143 121 |
Rumania es: . meee 11.5 120 #£.:179 132

Bulgaria oe 4.4 ~ 92 18.8 228 518 248

Albania . 0.2 0.7 | 12.0 12.1 60-fold 17-fold —

North Koreat —it*™”S _— 28° 12.0 16.4 11.7-fold 5.9-fold

1. Meters. 2. 199. 3. 1958, per cent of 1949. 4. Excluding upholstery and decorative fabrics. 5. 1953

Output of Footwear (million pairs)

1959, Per cent of
1950

Country Prewar 1950 1958 1959 Prewar 9
USSR 211.0 203.0 356.4 389.5 184 192
Poland ee 28.6 74.9 77.2 —< 269.3
Czechoslovakia —-_—sOW*#“S. 64.0 80.2 87.3 159 136.4
German Democratic __ a

Republic 15.3 8.0 19.8 22.9 150 286
Hungary ll ae 16.0 17.7 749 260
Rumania = lc a ~~ 252
Bulgaria —— — “32 6.8 7.8 — 244
North Korea ~ -§.gt 7.12 2.4 — 296 —
Albania
North Vietnam 0.2 0.5° 2.44 an 12-fold 4.8-fold
Mongolia

1. 1944, 2. 1953. 3. 1952. 4, 1957.

Per Capita Output of Footwear (pairs)

Country Prewar 1950 1958 1959 a scene rs

USSR 1.1 1.1 17 1.9 164 164
Poland as i | 2.6 2.6 — 236
Czechoslovakia aan i. a 6.0 6.4 ~ 168 123
German Democratic Republic 0.9 0.4 1.1 1.3 144. 325
Hungary 0.26 0.72 1.6 1.8 692 250
Rumania ane OO 0.7 1.3 1.5 —_ 214
Bulgaria — tt~—<“—=C“‘i 0.4 0.9 1.0 — 250
North Korea — 0.6 1.01 2.3 — 3002 —
North Vietnam a — — 0.16 0.14 — —

1. 1953, 2. 1958, per cent of prewar. H

106 WORLD MARXIST REVIEW
Sugar Output (million tons)
Country Prewar 1950 1958 1959 "a naa 50
USSR 2.2 2.5 5.4 6.0 277 237
China ae ; ~ 040° 02 — 0.9 — ‘ll 273 467
Poland =—s> 05 — 09 ll 46009 77 94
Czechoslovakia O06 O7 | 0.9 0.7 S-. —
German Democratic Republic —_ 0.6 0.8 0.7 —_ 120
Hungary OE — 0.3 0.3 316 ©6179 —
Rumania _ ik ~ 0.1 01 02 #8 0.24 255 278
Bulgaria a 0.025 —s«0.037 0.15 £0.13 514. = 350 ~S
1. 1936.
Per Capita Output of Sugar (kg.)
. 1959, per cent of
Country Prewar 1950 1958 1959 Prewar 1950
USSR 11.1 14.0 26.3 28.6 257.7 204.3
China ft os ’ ee 14-,-—C<T —_—- aor
Poland 14.7 38.5 38.1 306 208.2 79.5
Czechoslovakia - 43.7 ~—- 56.6 63.5 53.3 122.0 — 94.1
German Democratic Republic — 32.9 453 422 ~~ i—
Hungary el —_— ao 7s )060CtC<“ KS 2963 169.1 ~~
Rumania etnias _—_— <_< 104. 133 218.0 2510
Bulgaria — . 40 ——~—«~SGSLL 193 166 415 325
Albania” ile 05 “68 £76 — 15.2-fold

1. 1949, 2. 1958, per cent of 1949,

The rapid rates of industrial growth and the de-
veloping international socialist division of labor,
especially in its higher forms — specialization and
co-ordination of production — lead to changes in
the economic structure of the socialist countries.

In all of them, and especially in the less deve-
loped, the proportion of industry in social produc-
tion is rapidly increasing, a sign of their steadily
rising level of development.

Share of Industry and Agriculture in the Overall

Product of These Branches (per cent)*

Share of Industry

Share of Agriculture
1958-

Country 1937-1939 1958-1959 1937-1939 8-1959

China 30.1! 67.6 69.9! 32.4

Czechoslovakia _ — ~ 57.0 85.9 25 —~—~CS—s«—<‘a RE
German Democratic Republic — 80.9" — 86.8 — 19120 #§© 132 —
—e CC ~ 42.0 71.0 58.0 29.0
Rumania? ; «405 66.6 —_— ns
Bulgaria — -. . — 70.6 — —6—CtCSa
Albania 7 . 98 55.7 “90.2 £443 —
North Korea 28.08 sll
North Vietnam a, ~~ 10.0 37.1 ~ 90.0 — 62.9
Mongolia _ i ares 8

1, 1959. 2. 1950. 3. In 1955 prices. The figure for agriculture include forestry. 4. 1946.

*Because of differences in the structure of wholesale

prices and th

e method of calenlating the

share of industry and

agriculture in the overall product, the data cited in this table are not fully comparable. They indicate mainly the structural
changes in the national economy of the given country.

WORLD MARXIST REVIEW

107

Share of the Various Branches of Economy

in the National Income (per cent)

Transport Other
and Building branches of
Country Year Industry Agriculture communications industry of economy
USSR 1959 52.7 20.9 4.8 10.2 11.4
Poland 1958 48.51 24.7 2.7 8.6 15.5
Czechoslovakia 1958 67.0 10.0 3.0 11.0 9.0
German Democratic
Republic 1958 60.0 12.9 5.2 5.8 16.1
Hungary - 1958 54.6 32.1 3.5 ” 7 2.5
Rumania? 1959 57.6 19.13 4.8 9.5 9.0
Bulgaria i 1958 442121 32.6 3.7 6.6 16.0
Albania 1958 38.0 43.1 23 8.2 8.4
North Korea | 1958 37.6 39.4 1.8 ~ 49 16.2 —
Mongolia its 1957 16.8 31.5 11.0 4.2 36.5

1. Industry and handicrafts.

The structure of industry is changing too. The
socialist countries unswervingly adhere to the Len-
inist policy of priority development for heavy in-
dustry — the base of the socialist economy. By
1959, compared with 1913, overall industrial output
in the USSR had risen more than 40-fold, and that
of heavy industry 93-fold. Between 1949 and 1959
industrial output in China increased 13-fold,
with output of the means of production ris-
ing 29.6-fold. In Poland the 1959 industrial
output had risen by nearly four times the
1949 figure, with output in group ‘‘A”’ (means of
production) increasing 4.3-fold, in group “‘B’’ (art-
icles of consumption) 3.4-fold. The 1959 industrial
output in Czechoslovakia was 3.3 times the 1948
figure, with output in group “‘A”’ rising 3.8-fold
and in group ‘“‘B” 2.8-fold. Bulgaria’s 1958 indus-
trial output was nine times the 1939 figure, with
the increases in the groups 18- and 6.3-fold respec-
tively. Industrial output in Rumania had risen 4.3-
fold by 1959, compared with 1938, with output of
means of production rising 5.7-fold and consumer
goods 3.1-fold. Between 1946 and 1959 industrial
production in the Korean People’s Democratic Re-

2. In 1950 prices. 3. Including forestry.

public rose 19-fold, with output of the means of
production rising 20-fold.

The long-term plans also provide for priority
expansion of the production of means of produc-
tion, chiefly of heavy industry. For instance, in
the USSR the output of the means of production is
scheduled to rise by 85-88 per cent in 1965 as
against 1958, and output of consumer goods by 62-
65 per cent. In the 1961-65 period the output of
means of production in Poland is scheduled to go
up 58.7 cent, and output of consumer goods 44.2
per cent. In Czechoslovakia during the third five-
year plan (1961-65) output in group ‘‘A”’ is expec-
ted to rise by 70 per cent, in group “‘B” by 34 per
cent; the corresponding figures for the German
Democratic Republic (1959-1965) are 95 and 77 per
cent, in Hungary, 70-75 and 45-50 per cent. By 1965,
compared with 1959, output of the means of pro-
duction in Rumania will have risen 2.2-fold, while
consumer goods output will have doubled.

Priority growth of means of production signifies
that their proportion in the industrial output of the
socialist countries is increasing.

108

WORLD MARXIST REVIEW

Share of Output in Groups “A” and “B” in Gross

Industrial Output* (per cent)

Share of Group “A”

”

Share of Group “B
1958-1959

Country 1937-1939 1958-1959 1937-1939
USSR 33.3! 71.8 66.71 28.2
China — ee, 2662 58.9 73.42 41.1
Poland a 75 + +$;+i2s Ss #5
Czechoslovakia _ bahia 49.3 — 68.5 50.7 41.5
Hungaryy = = ~~ 44.8 64.0 55.2 36.0 —
Rumania —i—s = 45.5 58.9 54.5 40.2 —
Bulgaria Gos =e 0©=FS—té‘a SSS 77.4 54.5
Albania ptagt a 42.6 56.2 (57.4
North Korea aw 58.62 §5.2 41.42 ° = 44.8
North Vietnam aps — — 29.5 = 70.5
Mongolia a “51.9 — 48.1

1, 1913. 2. 149, 3. Share of heavy and light industry.

‘Because of differences in the structure of wholesale prices and the method of calculating the share of each of the twe
xroups in the overall industrial production, the data cited in this table are not fully comparable. They indicate mainly the

structural changes in the industry of the given country.

A feature of socialist industrialization is the ex-
pansion of the machine-building industry. This en-

sures the technical re-equipment of the national
economy and increased labor productivity.

Share of Machine-Building Output (per cent)

Country O37 1030 seta sR. 1689 1959 EP dse. 1959
China 2.7! 9.5° a —
Poland ee ~~ _ ° & # vv 8 §#8€32X3:_,:
Czechoslovakia __ eee l,l ~ 26.4 44.1_
German Democratic Republic ~ —- ~ or 2830 £438
Hungary era - 27-0 06=—ltCOS 23.0 34.6
Rumania it#*” — —— oe —_ —
Bulgaria _ ania 4.5 46 £422? °° #4241105 —

1. 1949, 2, 1957, 3, 1952.

Useful indication of the rapid economic progress
in the socialist countries is the high rate of growth
of labor productivity. The higher labor productiv-

ity now accounts for approximately three-fourths

of the increase in industrial output.

Pak sde 28 ee ee eee

hs

WORLD MARXIST REVIEW 109

Growth of Labor Productivity in Industry

Country Year Growth

USSR 1928-1959 8.8-fold

China ae 1952-1959 90.4 per cent
Poland _ So 1948-1958 134.4 per cent
Czechoslovakia = © 41949-1958 mi 132 per cent
German Democratic Republic = 1950-1958 --s« 8 per cent
Hungary! ~ 1949-1959 «3 per cent
Rumania So 1950-1959 ~-«98-_ per cent
Bulgaria oe 1949-1958 101 per cent
Albania . sia 1951-1958 72.3 per cent
North Korea ne 1953-1959 159 per cent
North Vietnam aaa 1958-1959 14.8 per cent
Mongolia ae ~~ 1952-1957 41.1 per cent

1. In state-owned industry.

| Il. AGRICULTURE

"THE socialist countries have made good progress _ socialist countries — collective farms, state farms,
in reconstructing their agriculture along social- producer co-operatives, etc. — accounts for over

ist lines on the basis of Lenin’s plan for co-opera- 90 per cent of the total agricultural land.

tion. At present the public sector throughout the

Producer Co-operation of Agriculture

Co-operative membership Socialist sector as per cent
: (thousand) of total agricultural land
Country 1950 1959 1950 1959
China 0.2 123,250! —_— 99.12
Poland 7 YG GE 20.32 10.4 13.2
Czechoslovakia — a 180.48 970.1 22.1 844
German Democratic Republic =” 196.9! 461.85 19.7! 96.08
Hungary é. © F195 | 564.6 6.67 71.36
Rumania ives eee | ae} a 81.36
Bulgaria ti ( tt”t~<“—sts—s~S~—S Se LI 98.0
Albania aa | 6S 2368 5.69 83.29
North Korea > 18,619 914.4 5.210 100.0
Mongolia rn 78 184.9 0.511 99,711
North Vietnam 2000 — 72.712

1. Number of peasant households. 2. According to the number of peasant households. 3. 1951. 4. 1955. 5. By February 1, 1960. 6.

June 1960, 7. Arable land. & 1958. 9, Producer co-operatives only. 10. 1953. 11. Number of arat live-stock farms. 12. October 196).

110 WORLD MARXIST REVIEW
Dynamics of Gross Output of Agriculture (per cent)

Country Index eo a 1950 secaaieg rows _ — a ‘
USSR 1913100 1461 218 1481 217 1411 218
China 1949—100 117.7 269.9 1152 2502 — —
Poland 1949100 107.5 128.4 101.2 113.4 + 119.8 157.5
Czechoslovakia 1936—100 87.3 99.48 82.2 93.48 94.3 107.75
German Democratic a

Republic 1955—100 -- 121.43 —- 1348 — 1153
Hungary 1949=100 106 # 134% 106 136% 106 132%
Rumania 1938—100 69 “117. ~—COt«~‘t«*CSYYT lll =—s 855 128
Bulgaria 1932-39—=100 1164 140? 1234 1473 106% 1303
Albania 1938—=100 119° 205 ~=136 °° #&«31956 99.65 1246
North Korea 1949=100 767678 TTF 14438 72778
North Vietnam 1955=100 — ~ 152.4 — a eee

1. 1953. 2. Gross output of food crops. 3. 1958. 4. 1948. 5. 1949-50, 6. 1957-58. 7. 1953.

The socialist reconstruction of agriculture, the
growing mechanization and modern methods of far-
ming have raised crop yields per hectare as well as
the output of plant-growing; head of cattle, produc-
tivity of animai husbandry and overall output of
agriculture have likewise grown.

In the Soviet Union the average per-hectare yields
of the following crops in 1954-58 were greater than
in 1934-38, and were (in tons): winter wheat — 1.31,

raw cotton — 1.97, sugar-beet — 17.4, potatoes —
nine. In Rumania between 1955-59 the per hectare
yield of maize rose by 38.5 per cent, potatoes —
36.9 per cent. In Bulgaria per-hectare yields in
1953-57 surpassed the 1934-39 level as follows: wheat
— by 14.6 per cent, maize — 35.7 per cent, potatoes
— 38 per cent. Higher yields are true also for the
other socialist countries.

Gross Output of Cereals (million tons)

Country Prewar Year 1950 1955 1957 1958 1959
USSR 95.5 80.9! 113.2 105.0 141.2 125.9
China? 138.74 1247 £4«.£1748 ~~ 185.0 _ ~ 250.0 270.0
Poland 13.3 11.6 ~ a7 13.50 13.5 (14.1
Czechoslovakia 5.6 4.7 it ”=—hMhC—CiCrHFSCtC~CS; 48 oa
German Democratic

Republic 6.5 a= 6.2 5.8 6.3 5.9
Hungary - fe ws “7 _ _ : |
Rumania 8.05 5.15 995 110. x we 10.63
Bulgaria® 4.1 3.2 44 49 4.0 5.0
Albania 0.2 0.23 0.33 T_T ot wa
North Korea 2.47 2.338 _-¢6—<‘<( ai‘ SZC or 3.4
North Vietnam 2.5 = ~ 38 4.1 48 5.4
Mongolia 0.01 — me — ~~ 0.137 a

1, 1949-53 (average annual figure).

terms of grain at a ratio of 4:1). 4. 1036 5. 1934-38 (average annual figure). 6. Including beans.

1954-58 (average annual figure).

3. Food crops —— potatoes and batatas in
8. 1953.

. 1944,

PES ies eis ae cs

1 DI oss

WORLD MARXIST REVIEW 111

The socialist countries are now growing nearly
half the world’s grain crop. In 1959, despite the
unfavorable weather in the USSR, 122,912,000 tons
of grain were harvested, i.e., 12,320,000 tons more
than the 1954-58 average. In China in 1959, which
was also a bad year for agriculture, farm output
increased 45.8 per cent compared with 1957. China
is now producing more grain than any other coun-
iry in the world.

Grain output in the socialist countries is increas-
ing at a much faster rate than in the capitalist
countries. Taking 1950 as 100, the respective figures
for grain production in the socialist and the capi-

talist countries were: in 1956 — 154.1 and 116.6, in
1957 — 152.2 and 114.2, in 1958 — 183.8 and 114.4.

The socialist countries are growing more indus-
trial crops; both their per-hectare yields and over-
all output have risen. In per-hectare yields of cot-
ton, for example, the Soviet Union in 1959 emerged
to the first place in the world, surpassing the Unit-
ed States level by one and a half times. The USSR
and China are now, together with the USA, the
biggest cotton producers in the world. Overall out-
put of sugar-beet, potatoes and other crops is also
increasing.

Gross Output of Cotton (thousand tons)

Country Prewar Year 1950 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959
USSR

(mlin. tons) 2.24 ou 3.9 4.2 39 4.3 4.2 4.4 4.7
China (cotton fibre) 849' 693 1175 1065 1519 1445 1640 2100 2410
Bulgaria 20.7 31.7 37.8 86.3 61.4 39.6 48.8 46.6 51.7
Albania 01 69 120 79 123 90 160 173 180
North Vietnam 1.0 —_ — — 2.61 5.7 5.7 5.7 6.15

1. 1936.

Gross Output of Sugar-beet (thousand tons)

Country 1934-38 Average 1950 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959
USSR (mln. tons) 18.0! 20.8 31.0 325 39.7 54.4 43.9
China* 190.52 «478.5% — = — 1501 2900 3694
Poland 5959 637772866428 76218427 5975
Czechoslovakia 4664 6296 = 6152 4585 6775 6946 5106 —
German Democratic a nae ol eo ee

Republic 5412 5460 5712 4324 6465 6976 4659
Hungary | 964.9+ 1639 — 2240.8 1948.2 1878.1 2070.4 2679 —
Rumania 392.5 632.8 2000.0 1518.9 20433 1732.0 3446
Bulgaria” 234.45 331.5 595.8 942.7 1433.9 882.4 1450.3.
Albania — 6.2 110 ~=— 63.7 984 704 1274

1. 194). 2, 1949. 3. 1952. 4. 1931-40. 5. 1939,

“In addition to these figures, production of cane sugar was: China in 1949—2,642,000 tons: in 1952—7,116,000; in 1958—13,525,000;
and in 1959--13,890,000 tons; in the Democratic Republic of Vietnam the 1939 figure was 109,000 tons; in 1955—100,000: in 1956—

22,000; in 1957—330,000; and in 1958—486,000 tons.

112 WORLD MARXIST REVIEW
Gross Output of Potatoes (thousand tons)

Country 1934-38 Average 1950 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959
USSR 75900! 88600 75000 71800 96000 87800 86500 86600
Poland 38036 36130 35662 27021 38052 35104 34800 35698
Czechoslovakia 9635 8156 — 7905 9635 8756 6589 6458
German Democratic

Republic 13567 13711 15520 11194 13565 14529 11498 12436
Hungary 1993.17 13501 — 2467.0 2055.0 2707.1 2599.5 2366
Rumania 1317.8 1601.3 2396.5 2607.8 2675.4 3058.1 27768 2896.5
Bulgaria 135.93 150.2 266.8 3642 2123 313.2 250.9 420.8
Albania 3.64 26.5 24.5 30.2 19.2 25.8 15.6 —_—
North Korea®

(mln. tons) 0.776 0.417 0.65 0.62 0.95 1.19 1.36 —_
North Vietnam® 156 — — 535 1062 540 424 718

1. 1940. 2. 1931-40. 3. 1939, 4. 1938. 5. Potatoes and batatas.

6. 1944,

7. 4933.

|
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113

WORLD: MARXIST REVIEW

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WORLD MARXIST REVIEW

115

Grain Harvester Combines (in physica! units)

Country Prewar Year 1950 1953 1956 1957 1958 1959
USSR (thous.) 182 211 318 375 483 502 492
Czechoslovakia! (units) _— — 1113 4304 4260 5027 6000
German Demo- 7
cratic Republic ” —_ — 475 3296 3702 4078 —
Hungary = — 25 1657 2269 2346 2324 —_
Rumania oe —_ 74 80 206 1642 7461 10801
Bulgaria 2 _ 13 1563 3517 3624 4566 5624
Albania? — —_ --- 114 141 216 256
Poland A — 84 466 3128 3353 3770 3700

1. Machine and tractor stations only. 2. State sector.

Nearly all farm work in pre-revolutionary Rus-
sia was done either by hand or by draught animals.
In 1959 in the USSR 98 per cent of the spring
ploughing and 97 per cent of the spring sowing
was done by machines. Combines harvested 92
per cent of the summer crops, including corn (93
per cent, excluding corn). In 1959 in Rumania 89
per cent of the ploughing was mechanized as

against 71 per cent in 1950, 68 per cent of the sow-
ing as against 54 per cent, and 65 per cent of the
harvesting as against 52 per cent in 1951. The per-
centages of mechanized work on Bulgarian co-
operative farms in 1959 and 1952 were respectively:
ploughing — 88.5 and 64.5; sowing — 81.2 and 34.5;
harvesting — 50.1 and 42.3. Growing mechaniza-
tion is the rule in the other socialist countries.

IV. THE RISE IN LIVING STANDARDS

HE steady growth of industry, agriculture and

' other branches of the economy is accompanied
by rising living standards. This is reflected above
all in the growth of the national income.

In 1959 the USSR national income was 1.8 times
as great as in 1953, and nearly 25 times as great

as in 1913. Calculated per head of the population
the increase was 1.6 compared with 1953 and 16-
fold compared with 1913. In 1960 Soviet national
income is expected to be nine per cent higher than
in 1959 and will amount to 1,450,000 million rubles.

Growth of the National Income

(1950 = 100)
Country 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959
USSR 100 112 125 136 153 171 4191 205 225 245
Chinat . ©©'1003)«139 «170 «©1193 +)39S 204.-S«s 2218S s«s248)«=s «260 »3= 348) 423
Poland 4100 #108 114 126 + #£9139 «+151 «#9162 177 «#4186 = «6196
Czechoslovakia 100 #2110 #121 ~+~#« 128 133. 147 156 166 180 189
German Democratic Republic 100 122 139 146 159 173 180 193 214 232
Hungary “100. «2117. «2115 += 1130.—2S”S=«~«<2I2'i‘ia23G6~SC«d'2s—i‘iéid#4s«‘id'‘SSD—s«d'T
Rumania! i 100. 131 137 #158 2157 #2193 178 207 «2214 «242
Bulgaria? 100 «#141 +=«=#9140~=—«:1170 169 178 180 203 217 #265
Albania no—_- —- — — se its te t
North Korea C—- — 70 94 116 146 200 285 342
North Vietnam — — — — — 100 — — a 190

1. 1950 prices. 2. 1957 prices. 3. 1949.

116 WORLD MARXIST REVIEW

The national income in the socialist countries,
wholly at the disposal of the working people, is
distributed in keeping with their interests. In the
capitalist countries over half of the national income
is appropriated by the capitalist class whereas in
the socialist countries about seventy-five per cent
sf the income is allocated to satisfy the material
and cultural needs of the population, the remain-
der is set aside for expanding socialist industry
and for other public purposes.

The ending of the export of a sizeable portion of
the national income by way of tribute to foreign
capital, as was the case before the socialist revo-
lution, and the abolition of the exploiting classes
and their parasitic consumption have enabled the
socialist countries steadily to increase capital in-

vestments in the economy and simultaneously to
ensure systematic growth of the absolute volume
of the consumption fund earmarked for social and
personal consumption.

In the socialist countries a large part of the na-
tional income allocated for the planned develop-
ment of industry, agriculture, transport and other
branches of the economy and also for raising liv-
ing standards and for other needs of the state, is
concentrated in the state budgets.

The expansion of all branches of the economy
ensures the steady growth of the state budgets of
the socialist countries, and provides the backing
for their finance-credit systems and currency cir-
culation.

State Budget Income and Expenditure

1959 in per
Country 1950 1959 cent of 1950
USSR income 423.0 672.0! 159
(bill. rubles) “expenditure 413.0 643.01 156
China ~ income 6.5 54.2 831
(bill. yuans) “expenditure 6.8 52.8 775
Poland ~ income 102.92 186.5 — ~ 181
(bill. zloty) expenditure 96.32 182.4 189
Czechoslovakia ~ income 43.8? 96.2. 220
(bill. crowns) expenditure 40.9% “95.9 a
German Democratic ~ income 34.82 ae 6
Republic (bill. marks) expenditure 34.82 46.9 120 ~~
Hungary : ~ income 24.0 52.9 ~ 0
(bill. forints) "expenditure 23.9 zit =6=)—3—<C
Rumania ~ income 20.0 ‘51.1 ~~ 256
~ (bill. lei) expenditure 19.1 48.3 253
Bulgaria ~ income 8.4 27.0
(bill. leva) expenditure 72 26.3 365
Albania ~ income 8.5 25.6 302
(bill. leks) expenditure 6.5 24.6 379
North Korea ~ income 0.22 1.7 780
(bill. hwan) expenditure 0.20 1.6 825
Mongolia ‘income 0.38 0.8! ~ 210
(bill. tughriks) “expenditure 0.36 ‘0.71 «194

1958 fier

2. 1953 figures. 3. 1951 figures.

WORLD MARXIST REVIEW

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anjon.}S

118

In 1960 state budget income from the socialist
economy in the USSR amounted to 703,000 million
rubles or 90.9 per cent of all budgetary resources.
Taxes comprise less than one-tenth of the budget-
ary revenue. Here we have one of the basic dif-
ferences between the socialist and the capitalist
budget.

In the capitalist countries taxes are the main
source of budgetary revenue. In the 1958/59 fiscal
year taxes (not including corporation income tax)
accounted for 70 per cent of all state revenue in
the United States. In Britain the figure was 75 per
cent; in France — 73 per cent; Italy — 88 per cent;
Federal Germany — 77 per cent. In the past 20
years the share of taxes in the U.S. budgetary in-

WORLD MARXIST REVIEW

come has increased eightfold, and in Britain —
5.5-fold.

In contrast, taxes in the socialist countries are
being steadily reduced. The USSR Supreme Soviet
decided in May 1960 gradually to abolish all taxes
on the population.

Military allocations, too, are being systematic-
ally curtailed in the socialist countries. In the
Soviet Union, for example, the share of these allo-
cations in the state budget expenditure was 12.9
per cent in 1960 against 20 per cent in 1950.

Military expenditure in the capitalist countries
is constantly growing. In 1959 its share in the state
budget was: in the USA — 51 per cent; Britain —
28.2 per cent; France — 42 per cent.

Capital Investments in the National Economy

Country Monetary Unit 1950 1959 es ie in 0
USSR bill. rubles 96.3 275.0 1695.3 286
China bil yuans=—“—«‘~C2:04ti“(<i«‘é«ézSTSCi“‘é«idl4«~O25.7-fold
Poland ~ pill. zloty ~~ 286 £4684 £4711 #2394 —
Czechoslovakia bill. crowns ———<“—stCS~<“<i«s=ié«‘ST7z«WGs—~“‘<‘élBON CET
German Democratic — i ak Ne ts ag i hadnt hl
Republic bill. marks — 14.0 _ —_
Hungary bill. forints ~ 9.7 ~ 13.712 «415.022, —s«2141.0
Rumania? ~ bill lei ~ 5.7 174 ®£421235 3080
Bulgaria bill. leva ~ 380 62 £516 206.7
Albania “bill. leks ~ 3.3 ~ 10.8! £52.12 322.0
North Korea — ~ bill. hwan— — ~ 39.0% | 620 _ 7-fold
North Vietnam ~~ mill. dongs — —_ a —
as 1.75 ona

Mongolia __ bill. tughriks

1. 1958. 2. 1950-58. 3. Excluding
1948-60

private investment anc

5:

le by co-operatives from their own funds. 4. 199.

119

WORLD MARXIST REVIEW

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120

An important contribution to raising living stan-
dards in the socialist countries is made by the
growing public funds. These funds are utilized for
housing (at low rent), for improving communal
services, the health service (free), building educa-
tional institutions, recreation halls, sports premis-
es, etc. In 1959 in the Soviet Union, for example,
the sum of 230,000 million rubles, provided by the

WORLD MARXIST REVIEW

state budget and funds contributed by the enter-
prises, was spent on public services, on pensions,
grants and other benefits, i.e., nearly 5.5 times the
1940 figure.

Thanks to the abolition of unemployment and the
expansion of industry the numbers of factory and
office workers are growing in the socialist coun-
tries.

Number of Factory and Office Workers (thousands)

Country 1950 1953
(i)

(2)

1958 in

per cent
1955 1956 1957 1958 of 1950
(4) (5) (6) (7) (8)

USSR. Numbers employed in

the national economy 38895 43660 48400 50537 53148 54600 140
incl. production workers in in-
_dustry FF CCi*AAA 1626117367 _—*18500 = 19144 = 19641139
China. Number of factory and

office workers in the na-

tional economy (end of
year) ——————s—s—siCi‘iéi 23918256 = 19076-24230 = 24506 = 45323443
incl. production workers 3004! 6188 6477 8626 9008 25623 owl
Poland. Number of factory eee ee

and office workers in the na-

tional economy —_ 5155 6272-6779 ~— 7083 7279 7326 142
incl. in (nationalized) industry 2002 2467S 2691'S 2803) 2900) 2929's 146
Czechoslovakia. Numbers em- ieee

ployed in the national eco-

nomy _ 5577 (5683 5956 6047 6100 6105 109
of whom in industry (1674 «18491956 = 2010, 2091S 2113126
German Democratic Republic. __ iris 7

Number of factory and office

workers in the national eco-

nomy 5268 5995 6411 6367 6493 6416 = 122
incl. in industry (2155 «26412770 27422820) 2871133
Hungary. Number of factory

and office workers in the

national economy 1809 2399 2398 (2438 2363 2427 _ 134
incl. in industry — 658 915° 942 959 952 990150
Rumania. Number of factory el

and office workers in the na-

tional economy 2123 2785 _ 2948 . 2991 2882 3058? 144
incl. in industry — ai 809 1028 1079 1113 1109 «1191-147
Bulgaria. Number of factory a

and office workers in the na-
_ tional economy 806 1086 1230 1262 1339 1414 175
incl. in industry = 355 418 459 «483—~—(i«CSSCCOSC1G
Albania. Number of factory | lle alien

and office workers in the

national economy | «83 139 1382388 sid 169 204 —
incl. in industry 22 48 49 _~—s«50 53 61 277 —
North Korea. Number of fac- yan ied

tory and office workers in

the national economy 465 ‘1575 763 808 844 983 2ll

1. 1949, 2. 1959. 3. 1959 in per cent of 1950. 4. In the socialist sector.

r-
S,

1e
id

WORLD MARXIST: REVIEW 121

Conditions of work are steadily improving in the
socialist countries, both in industry and in agri-
culture. Hours of labor are being reduced, the
system of labor protection is being perfected, and
the network of first aid and prophylactic establish-
ments is growing. By April 1, 1960, some 16 mil-
lion factory and office workers in the Soviet Union
had switched to a seven- and six-hour working day,
and by the end of the year all will be working
shorter hours. In keeping with the directives of
the Twenty-First Congress of the CPSU the forty-
hour week will be introduced by the end of 1962,
and, beginning with 1964, a six- and five-hour day
will gradually be introduced. The USSR will then
have the shortest working day in the world. Steps
to reduce the hours of labor are being contem-
plated also in the other socialist countries.

Wages, salaries and peasants’ incomes are grow-
ing annually. In the Soviet Union real wages and
salaries (including grants and other.state benefits)
had doubled by 1959 compared with 1940. Real in-
comes of the peasants (including grants and other
state benefits) showed a 2.2-fold increase for the
same period. Between 1953-59 real incomes of
Soviet factory and office workers rose 45 per cent,
while peasant incomes went up by 64 per cent.

By 1965 real incomes of wage and salaried work-
ers in the USSR (per worker) will have risen on
the average by 40 per cent both as a result of in-
creased wages, salaries, pensions and grants and
a reduction of prices in public catering establish-
ments. Real incomes of the collective farmers over
the same period will rise by at least 40 per cent.

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124

Together with the rise in the general volume of
sales of food and manufactures a change has taken
place in the structure of the trade — more manu-
factures are now being sold. The typical feature
here is the growing demand for goods of high
quality. In Bulgaria, for example, twice as much
meat was sold in 1959 as in 1952, 1.5 times as much
butter, 2.2 times as much milk and 1.9 times as
much sugar; in Poland 1.7 times as much meat
and meat products and approximately 1.3 times as
much sugar were sold in 1959 as in 1955. Over the
same period the increase in Rumania (socialist
trade sector) was: meat — 1.4 times, vegetable
oil — 1.4 and sugar 1.3. Durables are in much

WORLD MARXIST REVIEW

greater demand. In Czechoslovakia, for example,
12 times as many TV sets were sold in 1958 as in
1954, and 5.5 times as many refrigerators. In Hun-
gary eight times as many TV sets were sold in
1959 as in 1957, and eight times as many refriger-
ators and washing machines as in 1956.

Per capita consumption of food and consumer
goods is rising year by year. Compared with 1953
per capita consumption in the Soviet Union in 1959
had risen as follows: meat and lard — 27 per cent;
milk and dairy products — 40 per cent; eggs — 44
per cent; fish and fish products — 29 per cent, and
sugar 37 per cent.

Per Capita Consumption of Food

MEATS (kg.) FATS (kg.) SUGAR (kg.)

Country Prewar Yer 1958 Prewar Year 1958 Prewar Year 195
Czechoslovakia 34.0 53.9 (15.6 19.7 23.1 7 35.0
German Democratic nti ee

Republic 46.8! 56.32 11.53 27.9% 22.9 - 30.1
Poland 19.6! 4784 — — 96 285
Hungary © : 2 =e 8 20 10.5 24.8

1, AN Germany. 2. 1959. 3. 1950. 4. Including fats.

Housing in the socialist countries receives spe-
cial attention. Since the October Revolution a total
of 714.8 million sq.m. of floor space has been built
in the Soviet Union. Another 650-660 million sq.m.
in the towns and some seven million houses in the
countryside will be built during 1959-65. For rate
of house-building per head of the population the
USSR holds first place in the world. The number
of flats built per each thousand of population in

1958 was: in Britain — 5.5; France — 6.5; the
United States — 7.2; Holland — 8.1; Sweden —
8.4; Federal Germany — 9.4; and in the Soviet
Union 14. In 1959, 14.5 flats per thousand were
built in the USSR. In the near future each Soviet
family will have a separate flat.

House-building is making good headway also in
the People’s Democracies.

125

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WORLD MARXIST REVIEW

JUAMIIINSvIY JO WU Asyunos

adedg J00].J pouolssturu0;

126

Dwelling houses and public buildings erected in
China during the 10 years of people’s power to-
talled 350 million sq. meters.

The health service is improving as can be seen
from the growing numbers of doctors, the larger
numbers catered for in medical institutions, the
declining mortality rate, particularly infantile mor-
tality, and other factors.

Number of People per Doctor*

Before Second

Country World War 1949 1959
USSR 1429 7141 556
Poland 2703 2857 1124
Czechoslovakia — 1158 °}§&616
Hungary 862 929 656
Rumania 2036 14602 860!
Bulgaria 2013 1426 740
1, 1950. 2. 1948 3. 1958. 4. 1955.

*Excl. dentists.

Medical personnel in China (exclusive of those
specializing in Chinese medicine) increased 2.8
times between 1950-58. In the Korean People’s De-
mocratic Republic the increase was 4.3 between
1946-59, and in Albania 8.6 between 1938-58.

Number of Hospital Beds

(per thous. of population)

Before Second

Country World War 1949 1959
USSR 4.0 5.61 7.6
Poland = tS ° #32
Czechoslovakia 3.3 6.1 7.32
German democratic

Republic — 10.2! 11.8
Hungary ae 5.4 i
Rumania 22 £421 (fl
Bulgaria i (<kasl2O)|ClU8S))™CUTD

T, 1950. 2, 1958.

In China the number of hospital beds per each
thousand of population increased more than four-
fold between 1949-58, in the Korean People’s De-
mocratic Republic 25-fold between 1944-59, in Al-
bania approximately fourfold between 1938-58.

WORLD MARXIST REVIEW

Birth-Rate, Death-Rate and Net Population
Increase

(per thousand of population)

Country Prewar Year 1950 1958
USSR
Births 313 26.7 25.3
‘Deaths — 18.1 — we

Natural growth

of population 13.2 17.0 18.1
Poland
Births 25.31 30.7 26.3
Deaths — as |) ae
Natural growth 2 ieee =
of population 11.2! 19.1 17.9
Czechoslovakia
Births 19.7 22.03 17.4
Deaths 13.72, ~—-10.93 © 9.3
Natural growth i cial i
of population 6.07 11.18 8.1
German Democratic
Republic
Births 18.04 16.5 15.6
Deaths | 11.94 11.9 12.7
Natural growth oo .
of population 6.14 4.6 2.9
Hungary
Births 19.9 21.0 16.1
Deaths 143 °»#115 ~9.9°
Natural growth oes 7
of population 5.6 9.5 6.2
Rumania
Births 29.5 26.2 21.6
Deaths ~ 19.1 (12.4 e7
~ Natural growth eo
of population 10.4 13.8 12.9
Bulgaria
Births 21.4 Zon 17D
‘Deaths 13.4 “10.2 #§=87.9
“Naturalgrowth |
of population 8.0 15.0 10.0
Albania
Births 34.7 38.5 41.0
Deaths 178 £44140 °°» 911
~ Natural growth : mre
of population 16.9 24.5 31.9

WORLD MARXIST REVIEW

127

Country Prewar Year 1950 1958 eat «td vananes tees — 159.60
North Korea ; _ Czechoslovakia
Births 31.3° 41.26 39.3% General schools 2210.2 1593.73 2054.62
Deaths 20.8% 18.78 12.07 Vocational schools 75.5 92.68 192.1?
Natural growth Higher educational
of population 10.55 22.56 27.37 establishments 27.1 64.7 74.9°
1. ie for 1936-38 2. Average for 1930-34, 3. Average German Democratic
for 1950-54. 4, 1938. 5. 1944. 6. 1949, 7. 1959. Republic
Big advances have been registered in the social. | General schools — _2514* = 18122
ist countries in the spheres of science and culture Vocational schools — 9154 508?
which are now accessible to all. Specialized secondary
All children attend primary school. Enrolment schools (of the
in secondary schools and higher educational estab- technical school ‘
lishments has substantially increased. Most of the ty pe) ; ek 21.8 127.7
students are sons and daughters of working people. Higher educational
Each year sees further progress in book-printing, establishments — 31.54 90.5
cinema and theatre, accommodation in radio and Hungary
television. General schools 1096 1202 1268
Secondary schools
Number of Pupils and Students in the Various and specialized
Educational Establishments (thousands) secondary educa-
tional establish-
Country Prewar Year 1949-50 1959-60 ments 52.3 94.0 204
@ (2) (3) (4) Higher educational
USSR establishments 11.7 — 23.2 34.5
General schools of Rumania
all types 35552 34752! 33361 General schools 1604 1848 2339
Vocational schools Secondary technical

and apprentice educational estab-

schools 717 8821 996 lishments 14.7 79.0 46.9
aa : aie ae ini ead abe Higher educational

Technical and

other specialized ___ establishments 26.5 48.6 62.0

secondary schools Bulgaria

(incl. correspond- __General schools 1010 1004 1175
__ence departments) 975 12981 _ 1908 Vocational and spe-

Higher educational cialized secondary

establishments educational estab-

(incl. correspond- lishments 10 49 652
aa ence departments) 812 1247! 2267 Higher educational '
China establishments 10 38 49

Primary schools 23682 24391 90000 Albania
Secondary schools 1496 1039 85202 General schools 55.4 172.34 232.5°
Specialized secondary Higher educational
schools 383 229 1470 establishments — 0.134 3.32
Higher educational North Korea
establishments = =155 7810 Primary schools 878 1391 1210?
Poland Secondary schools — _ 338 1017°
Primary schools 4865.3 3352.9 4574.2 Technical and other
: specialized educa-
Secondary schools at ; ars cic tional establishments — 37 120°
Vocational schools : ; ‘ Higher educational
Higher educational establishments — 11 372
establishments _ 49.5 115.5 155.0

1, 1950-51. 2, 1958-59, 3. 1948-49. 4. 1951. 5S. 1953-54.

128 WORLD: MARXIST’ REVIEW

Enrolment has substantially increased in Mon-
golia and in North Vietnam. In 1958/59 the figures
for Mongolia were 100,000 in general schools and
4,000 in higher educational establishments, and in
North Vietnam — 985,000 in primary schools,
132,000 in secondary schools and 5,500 in institutes
of higher learning.

* * *

A vital factor in the successful development of
the economy and culture of the socialist countries
is their close economic co-operation and mutual
aid and the growing international socialist division
of labor.

The Soviet Union, the strongest of the socialist
countries, has granted the People’s Democracies
over 30,000 million rubles in credits and loans on
highly favorable terms.

Within the framework of economic and technical
aid the Soviet Union is supplying the People’s De-
mocracies with industrial plant and equipment,
and is helping them in the construction of over
620 big enterprises and 190 factory shops and in-
stallations.

Soviet Aid in Building Enterprises, Factory
Shops and Installations in the People’s
Democracies

Factory Shops and

Country Enterprises Installations
China 291 59
Poland 68 zm
Czechoslovakia 8 eS .
Hungary 27 4
Rumania 60 23
Bulgaria 45 25
Albania 58 23
North Korea 30 —
North Vietnam _—‘'16 |
Mongolia 21 10

These enterprises include: 87 thermal and hydro-
electric stations with a total capacity of 15 million
kw.; 66 iron and steel and non-ferrous plants with
a capacity in excess of 39 million tons of steel; 52
mines with a capacity of 55 million tons of coal;

41 chemical plants with a capacity of about one
million tons of nitric fertilizer (in terms of am-
monia), 150,000 tons of synthetic rubber; over 100
plants with an annual capacity of 55,000 motor
vehicles, 67,000 tractors and large numbers of other
machines.

Considerable quantities of plant and equipment
are delivered to the fraternal countries by the
German Democratic Republic, Czechoslovakia and
the other People’s Democracies.

The socialist countries engage in comprehensive
scientific-technical co-operation; they exchange on
a gratis basis scientific and technological disco-
veries, designs for capital construction, specifica-
tions of latest technological processes, technical
standards, norms and instructions, and samples of
apparatuses and instruments. The co-operation ex-
tends also to research and experimentation, to
training and re-training personnel.

Between 1948-60 the Soviet Union supplied the
other socialist countries with 28,817 sets of tech-
nical specifications for various machines and equip-
ment and for the construction of capital projects.

On the other hand, the USSR has received from
the People’s Democracies 7,048 sets of technical
specifications,

The foreign trade of the socialist countries is
steadily growing. By 1959 it had grown to 114,800
million rubies compared with 39,000 million in
1950, i.e., a nearly threefold increase; trade bet-
ween the capitalist countries over the same period
increased 1.7-fold. The annual rate of growth of
trade on the socialist world market between 1950-
59 averaged 12.7 per cent, whereas for the capi-
talist world market the figure was 6.6 per cent.
The structure of the trade between the socialist
countries has changed greatly — prominence be-
ing given to export of manufactures, including ma-
chinery. Trade between the socialist and the cap-
italist countries is likewise growing.

* * *

The rapid rates of social production and the ac-
companying rise in living standards in the social-
ist countries are clear proof of the superiority of
the socialist economic system over capitalism. Con-
cern for man, for the fullest possible satisfaction
of the needs of the people — this is the purpose
to which the Communist and Workers’ parties in
the socialist countries are dedicated.

Editions of the Journal
"PROBLEMS OF PEACE AND SOCIALISM"

EDITIONS IN ENGLISH
{ eview):

World
Central Books Ltd.,
37 Grays Inn i
London, W.C. |., England

Progress Books,
42-48 | “Stafford St.
Toronto 3, Ontario,
Canada

FRENCH EDITION:

(La Nouvelle Revue Internationale)
Societe Parisienne d'Edition et
d'information 9, Boulevard des Italiens
Paris (2e) France

Librairie Du Monde Entier,

5, Place St-Jean,

Bruxelles

Librairie Rousseau,

36, rue J.-J. Rousseau,

Geneve

RUSSIAN EDITION:
Stredisko pro rozsirovani tisku,
Praha 6, Sadova 3

Czechoslovakia

CHINESE EDITION:
Guozi Shudian,

38 Suchouhutung,
Peking, China

ALBANIAN EDITION:
Ndermarja Shtetnore Botimeve
‘Naim Frasheri"', Tirana

BULGARIAN EDITION:

ong
aoe Tzar Assen,
sof ia

CZECH EDITION:

Artia, Praha 2

Nove Mesto, Ve smeckach 30
DUTCH EDITION:

Progressief Algemeen Vertaaibureau,
Chr. Snouck Hurgronjehof 22",
Amsterdam-W

GERMAN EDITION:
oe Buch-Export und -import

mbH,
Leipzig C |, Leninstrasse 16
HUNGARIAN EDITION:
Kossuth Kiado, Budapest, ¥ ,
Vorosmartyter 4

ITALIAN EDITION:

Libreria Rinascita, Via delle Botteghe
Oscure 2, Roma

JAPANESE EDITION:

Nauka Ltd.,
2, Kanda-Zinbocho
2-chome, Chiyoda-Ku, Tokyo

KOREAN EDITION:
Central publications distribution office,
Phyongyang, Korea

Sperone EDITION:

M knit. +

L Stalina, Ulan-Bator

POLISH EDITION:
» K, W.'Z. “RECHT,
Wilcza 46

Warszawa,

RUMANIAN EDITION:

Directia Difuzarii Presei,
Palatul administrativ C.F.R.,
Bd. Dinicu Golescu, Intrarea G,
Bucuresti

EDITIONS IN SPANISH:

Agencia de Distribucion de Prensa,
Praha 6, Sadova 3

Ediciones Paz y Socialismo,
Apt. Nacional t283,
Bogota, Colombia

SWEDISH EDITION:

Arbetarkulturs forlag,
Kungsgatan 84,
Stockholm K

Mura ogee EDITION:
* xuét nh&p khau sach bao 32,
Hel Ba Tru’ng, H&-néi